Some Manitoba wildfire evacuees say they're still waiting for promised financial help
Adult evacuees registered with Canadian Red Cross eligible for $34 daily, province says
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.
'They are not helping'
Thibodeau said the problems underscore a lack of preparedness to deal with the current emergency in Manitoba.
"It's like you gotta beg for a little bit of help. I feel like giving up," Thibodeau said.
Meanwhile, Linda Smith and Tom Allen, who have had to move four times in recent weeks, also say they haven't had any financial assistance from the Red Cross yet.
"They are not helping," Smith said.
The couple, who are from Flin Flon, were staying at a camper in Snow Lake until the town was put under a mandatory evacuation order Friday amid growing wildfires.
The couple said Friday they planned to head to The Pas. While the Red Cross is offering help in larger centres like Winnipeg, Smith and Allen said they're hoping they can return home soon and don't want to travel that far south.
"It has been hell," said Smith, who added the couple have applied for employment insurance benefits, "but we have to wait for 28 days."
The situation is "frustrating," said Smith.
Lori Osborne, who was forced out of Pimicikamak Cree Nation with her four children, is also waiting for financial help.
She only found out about the stipend on Friday via social media, even though she has been out of her community for more than a week.
The Red Cross has been helping with supplies for her children, like diapers and wipes, but Osborne said she wishes there had been better communication about the stipend, which she now expects to get Sunday.
"There's all of this thing that I'm doing. I'm just learning as I go," she said. "I'm lost — sometimes I don't understand, but I'm trying to learn."
In a statement to CBC News on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Red Cross said some evacuees may need to verify their identity in person at a reception centre if the organization is unable to verify information provided during the registration process.
The Red Cross said it is distributing financial assistance to people evacuated from municipalities and non-First Nation communities, while Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak is distributing financial assistance for First Nations evacuees.
Information about how to register with the Red Cross or how to access financial assistance being provided on behalf of the provincial government can be found on the organization's website, the Red Cross said Saturday.
Find the latest wildfire information at these sources:
- Canadian wildfire map
- Province of Manitoba fire bulletins
- CBC's wildfire tracker
- Communities under evacuations in Manitoba
Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@findhelp.ca.
With files from Gavin Axelrod and Caroline Barghout