It was a long time coming, but Mapleton has received, if not an actual cheque, at least assurance the township will receive the total amount of expenses submitted to the provinces for ice storm relief in connection with a massive storm in December of 2013. Mapleton was one of three municipalities in Wellington County that were first in the province to finalize their claims. Commendations are no doubt due township staff for efficiently dealing with what was, by all accounts, a process nearly as messy as the clean-up effort that necessitated it. Four other Wellington municipalities continue to negotiate with the province over eligibility of expenses for claims of varying sizes.
That it took more than a year after the weather event to reach this stage is a sad commentary on how slowly the wheels of bureaucracy can move, but at least the province has recognized the ice storm as a disaster beyond the scope of traditional municipal responsibility.
However many municipal officials have expressed concern over the complex and time-consuming application process, one that is still underway for many of them. It has been an unnecessary frustration resulting from the ad hoc nature of the government’s relief effort, which was cobbled together only after repeated requests from municipalities. That needs to be addressed.
The time to start fixing the problem is now, before the next storm strikes.
Clearly Ontario needs a permanent, more broadly-based disaster relief program with clear guidelines so everyone knows what is covered and to what extent, in order to allow for better planning and more efficient response. Perhaps there also needs to be a more defined process for accessing federal assistance was well.
It would be a shame if no lessons were learned from the current debacle.
