Northern residents with spoiled food from power outages to each receive $100 from province
CBC
The $100 in compensation the Saskatchewan government is sending to help northern residents who lost food in the two-and-a-half days without power last week is not enough, according to a local mayor.
On Friday, the province said it would offer $100 to each resident in a dozen northern communities as a grant to cover grocery costs if their food spoiled.
"The residents feel let down by the government, with the cost of living $100 is simply a small amount," said La Loche Mayor Georgina Jolibois.
She said it's not enough for people like single parents with multiple kids, including covering baby formula.
"The province is definitely competing with Clearwater River Dene Nation, the band gave out … $200 to buy groceries," Jolibois said.
La Loche, located roughly 430 kilometres northwest of Prince Albert, was previously under an evacuation order but is no longer, though said not many residents of the community have returned home because of how fires are affecting roadways.
WATCH | As wildfires in northwestern Saskatchewan impact roadways, Saskatchewan focusing on getting food and fuel into communities:
As of Sunday at 3 p.m., the Highway Hotline showed that Highway 155 — which was temporarily closed because it was surrounded by wildfires — has reopened but with low visibility because of smoke.
Jolibois said because of the highway closure, the stores that were open were without groceries like bread because supply trucks could not get through. She expects the roadway to intermittently be closed at times because of the wildfires.
Jolibois said she spoke with provincial leadership last week, saying they wanted help with food compensation because the residents had to throw out food. Later that week, she was told that money was on its way.
The northern communities — including places like La Loche, Buffalo Narrows, Buffalo River Dene Nation, Dillon and Descharme Lake — were without power from about 3 p.m. on Sunday until shortly after 1 a.m. on Wednesday, attributed to the wildfire activity plaguing the north.
Community leadership, like Jolibois, will distribute the money to residents in the community after the grant is issued from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.
"The lengthy interruption in power caused a lot of food to spoil," said Christine Tell, Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety.
"These funds will provide relief to residents and communities who do not originally qualify for support through the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program."
The Rachel Notley government's consumer carbon tax wound up becoming a weapon the UCP wielded to drum the Alberta NDP out of office. But that levy-and-repayment program, and the wide-ranging "climate leadership plan" around it, also stood as the NDP's boldest, provincial-reputation-altering move in their single-term tenure.