Committee summons Maritime Electric, Red Cross, EMO to discuss Fiona response
CBC
Representatives of Maritime Electric, the Canadian Red Cross, P.E.I.'s Emergency Measures Organization and the province's department of housing are all being summoned to appear at a series of emergency meetings planned by a standing committee of the provincial legislature to delve into the province's response to post-tropical storm Fiona.
P.E.I.'s Standing Committee on Health and Social Development sent out requests Thursday for witnesses to appear as soon as possible, to try to gather information before the next sitting of the legislature begins Nov. 1.
"We have serious concerns with how our government has been responding and supporting Islanders during this time of crisis," wrote Liberal MLAs Robert Henderson and Sonny Gallant in a letter to the committee dated Oct. 7.
The storm initially knocked out power to the entire province, and some customers of Maritime Electric were still without power 20 days later.
Meanwhile, many Islanders were forced to wait for hours in line to try to obtain $250 in relief money offered by the provincial government and administered by the Red Cross.
"I've had constituents tell me they were told to go to Montague to prove that they existed," said Henderson at a committee meeting Wednesday.
Henderson represents the district of O'Leary-Inverness. The driving distance from O'Leary to Montague is 164 km.
"I don't even know what the bloody criteria is, there doesn't seem to be any criteria," Henderson told the committee.
The Red Cross has been asking some Islanders who applied for the relief money to show up in person at various reception centres to authenticate their identification. Others were able to receive the payments via e-transfer after applying online.
The organization set up reception centres in Charlottetown and Montague, and had plans to open a third centre in Summerside Wednesday, which would be closer to Henderson's district.
At their meeting Wednesday, MLAs from all three parties agreed on a plan to move ahead with their investigation into the Fiona response.
The committee took the unusual step of making itself available to meet on weekends, if required, to gather information as quickly as possible.
In the letter the Liberals sent to the committee, Henderson and Gallant said they wanted to know, among other things:
Some of those government-owed seniors' housing complexes were without power for up to 12 days. The province has said some could not be equipped with emergency backup generators because the buildings were too old.
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