Some Manitoba wildfire evacuees say they're still waiting for promised financial help

Financial aid has been promised to help residents fleeing from wildfires in Manitoba, but some evacuees say there have been issues with the rollout, and they're stuck waiting for the money to start flowing. 

On Thursday, the province said evacuees are eligible for the daily stipend if they are a permanent resident of Manitoba, have a primary residence in a community under a mandatory evacuation order issued on or after May 23, and are registered as an evacuee with the Canadian Red Cross.

The financial benefit — $34 daily for each person age 13 or older and $27 for those 12 and under — will be distributed through the Red Cross and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, the province says.

A spokesperson told CBC News on Thursday evacuees would start receiving the first payment within three to five days, which would cover up to the first two weeks' worth of support, with future payments based on the duration of the evacuation orders.

The province says the funds will be issued via e-transfer or a prepaid card.

But Peter Thibodeau, a wildfire evacuee from Cranberry Portage, said the Red Cross has already told him he will need to travel to an evacuation centre in Winnipeg to pick up the stipend.

Thibodeau was forced out of his house in Cranberry Portage, about 600 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, last Saturday after wildfires knocked down power and choked the air with heavy smoke. He evacuated to Peguis First Nation, north of Winnipeg, where he's been staying at his son's home.

However, he has no money to cover his own food or get gas for his vehicle, he said.

Thibodeau registered with the Red Cross last Sunday and said he's phoned them at least nine times in the last week to get more information about the financial support, but he hasn't been able to get much information.

"I'm waiting for another manager to call me, and that's, like, two days ago now," he said Saturday. "Every person [has] a different message."

He says he was first told the stipend would be sent via e-transfer, but then another person told him he needed to get it in Winnipeg.

"I don't want to go to Winnipeg for nothing," he said. "What if I get there and I get no money?"

The financial assistance — amounting to $238 per week for adult evacuees — is crucial, Thibodeau said. 

Thibodeau said the problems underscore a lack of preparedness to deal with the current emergency in Manitoba.