Some N.S. families feel they were arbitrarily denied Red Cross relief payments after Fiona

After post-tropical storm Fiona tore through Nova Scotia, Sara Nelson-Bishop's family home in Colchester County had no electricity or running water for 11 days and no phone service for 35 days. Her family of eight had to drive to the closest town to pick up water to flush their toilet and they cooked their meals on a barbecue. 

Nelson-Bishop's home and property needed extensive repairs after high winds tore shingles off the roof and downed 27 trees on their driveway — including one that landed on her husband's truck. But since the family didn't have insurance, they paid out-of pocket. 

"It cost us a fortune in gas going back and forth to get water because we couldn't do dishes, the kids couldn't wash at all, we couldn't cook anything without water, we couldn't flush our toilet," she said. "We spent a lot on propane to run the barbecue ... so that we could feed the kids."

Nelson-Bishop said recovering from the storm was a financial hardship, and she hoped a $500 relief payment from the Canadian Red Cross would help a bit. 

But after she drove more than an hour to the nearest in-person office to verify her identity, she was told she didn't qualify for the payment and was given no explanation. 

Nelson-Bishop feels she was arbitrarily denied the relief funding that was meant to help Nova Scotians recover from the storm. She said the guidelines for funding were not clearly communicated, and didn't seem to be consistently applied. 

She isn't alone in her confusion. CBC News spoke to nine Nova Scotians who lost power for multiple days and incurred high expenses recovering from the storm who were also denied the payment with little to no explanation. 

In the weeks following post-tropical storm Fiona, the Canadian Red Cross and the Nova Scotia and federal governments announced several measures to support people and businesses affected by the storm. 

The Red Cross managed two programs, funded by donations from Canadians and matching funds from the Government of Canada. The programs opened in early October and applications closed two months later. 

One was a one-time payment of $1,000 per eligible household for people ordered out of their homes because of Fiona or who couldn't return home because of storm damage.

The other was a $500 payment to eligible households unable to meet basic needs due to damage from Fiona.

The households had to be located within the hardest hit areas: Antigonish, Cape Breton, Colchester, Cumberland, Guysborough, Inverness, Pictou, Richmond or Victoria counties.

In November, the Red Cross told CBC it had distributed $500 payments to 18,604 households in Nova Scotia, totalling $9.3 million.

According to the Red Cross's website, the money is "intended to help those most vulnerable who are unable to meet urgent, basic needs because of the storm. This one-time financial assistance will be provided to those most in need, not every household."

No other eligibility criteria were included on the website. 

The Red Cross declined an interview request to speak about the process of applying, verifying identity, and why some people may have been denied.

In an emailed statement, spokesperson Allie Murchison-Maguire would not elaborate on these topics.

"In due course, the Canadian Red Cross will provide a publicly available update on the appeal status and how the funds are spent," Murchison-Maguire said.

Another Red Cross spokesperson would not provide a copy of the questionnaire used to determine a household's eligibility.

"It is through these questions that the Red Cross is also able to identify those who are most vulnerable following a disaster," Leianne Musselman said. "People who self-identify at a reception centre or over the phone as having immediate unmet needs are also provided with an assessment for assistance."

Being asked to self-identify at a reception centre created problems for some people.

Ashley Sutherland lost power for 13 days and internet for 30 days. The storm tore the electricity mast off her house, and when it was restored, it caused a fire in the home. Sutherland said she also lost more than $400 of food.

"It doesn't seem like much, but it's a lot when you already have financial barriers that you're dealing with," she said.

After applying for relief, Sutherland was asked to drive more than an hour to verify her identity, but she couldn't miss work to make the trip during the week and the office wasn't open on weekends.

She said after spending hours on the phone with Red Cross representatives she was finally approved to verify her identity via video chat. But when she followed up, she was told the program was closed and there was nothing she could do now to get the money. 

"It's just frustrating to receive mixed messages and unclear information, especially from such a reputable organization that's really supposed to help people out," Sutherland said. "You know, the whole point of this is to assist people that have had struggles because of Hurricane Fiona and it just feels like there's more barriers that are being put in place."

Kendra Coombes, MLA for Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier, said she has heard from 35 families who were denied and not given a reason. 

She said she has been trying to get answers for these people but hasn't had much luck, so she is encouraging people to file an appeal.

"People who had damage to their home, damage to their property, loss of food, loss of work. Almost every story is very similar, and nobody knows just why they were disqualified."