Disaster relief program slow and confusing, say some N.S. homeowners

Natasha Murphy spent the winter inside her family's leaking home in Glace Bay, N.S., that was damaged by post-tropical storm Fiona.

Half of her roof is missing and remains covered with a tarp. Water has been seeping into her front porch and through a light fixture in the main room.

Murphy received a few thousand dollars from insurance to cover the damage but has been waiting for government assistance since October. 

"It's a bit frustrating. You don't know when the water's coming in," she said. "We actually can't turn on the light in the living room because we're scared we might start a fire. So it's not good." 

The province's Emergency Management Office is in charge of handing out federal relief dollars under a national program called Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements.

In February, the office stopped accepting applications from homeowners under the program for Fiona-related damage. It has received more than 1,400 applications from across Nova Scotia but only 200 claims have been paid out so far.

Murphy said someone from the program visited her home and said she would likely receive money, but it was not clear how much or when it might arrive.

People unsure of eligibility 

Sharon Irvine also spent the winter worrying about water coming into her home. The Glace Bay woman lives near the ocean and listened as ferocious winds from the September storm tore vinyl siding from her small one-storey home and flattened a garage in her backyard.

Finding help in the days that followed was nearly impossible, she said, because so many people living in Glace Bay, and within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, were struggling with power outages and trying to repair damage to their own properties.  

"This has been the worst, and like you can't get anybody to give you a hand — you can't get any workers in, they won't do anything," Irvine said. 

The 71-year-old and her daughter patched the home as best they could using tarps to cover up the damage.

Irvine did not apply for government relief. After a previous fire at her home, she said her insurance provider cut her off. And she had heard from people in the community that homeowners without insurance were being turned away.

According to the Emergency Management Office, homeowners who could buy insurance before Fiona would typically not be covered for any damage or loss that would be considered insurable.

Calls to reopen relief program

Kendra Coombes, the Nova Scotia MLA who represents Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier, said some people living in the area were struggling to understand whether or not they would be eligible for funding, while others had their application denied. 

"There should have been, and there should still continue to be, people on the ground to go through the process with individuals," she said.

"People are very confused if they qualify. If they don't, why they didn't qualify, you know? So that was one of the big problems that we were seeing."

Coombes said the Nova Scotia government should reopen its disaster relief process and complete applications for people who may have fallen through the cracks.

She also wants the program expanded to include more people who are uninsured.

"There's people who could not afford insurance," she said. "There's some people who are just scraping by — if not, actually still in debt. It's not even just paycheck to paycheck anymore. They can't afford it."

Changes sought

The Emergency Management Office declined a request for an interview but provided an emailed statement saying the province has asked Ottawa to change its disaster relief guidelines so that more people can receive money under the program.

CBC News also reached out to federal Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair but he was unavailable for an interview.

A spokesperson for the department said Ottawa has earmarked $1 billion dollars for Fiona relief under the DFAA program and raised the prospect that changes to the eligibility requirements could be in the works.

"A review of the DFAA program was launched last spring with special considerations around the affordability of insurance, and we will continue to work with provincial and territorial partners to advance the work of modernizing this system," the spokesperson said. 

"As these types of events become more frequent and severe, we want to make sure that Canadians in every part of the country have equal access to the supports they need to rebuild their lives and livelihoods when disasters strike."