Merritt still waiting on provincial funding to re-home its residents following flood

KAMLOOPS — After a visit from Emergency Preparedness Minister Mike Farnworth in December, the City of Merritt had hoped some more immediate financial assistance would be coming to help the recovery efforts.

However, the city is still waiting for provincial money to build alternative housing for the nearly thousand residents without a home.

“Part of our ask is, part of the billions of dollars the federal government gave, and we’re not quite sure where that sits with the province at this point,” said Merritt mayor Linda Brown. “I don’t actually know if they have the dollars, but what I’m saying to them is you know you’re getting them. Just give us the approval to go ahead and distribute it afterwards.”

Merritt is in the planning phase of what it hopes will be permanent housing units — in the range of a couple hundred — for people whose home is unlivable. However, the biggest thing holding back the plans is a lack of committment from government.

“That would be DFA (disaster financial assistance). That would be a combination of DFA, the province and the feds because we’re not just looking at what DFA is offering us. We also need to be able to go in and order these [housing units], the availability of suppliers and getting in there, so we can get them built ahead of time.”

The City of Merritt has been clear on the immediate need for housing, something area MLA Jackie Tegart feels there are gaps in the province’s response in the weeks and months following a disaster like Merritt.

“[B.C. is] very good at ‘on the moment’ saying the right things, assuring people things will happen for them,” said Tegart, also referring to delays in Lytton. “I think local governments, regional districts and everyone needs to say to government, ‘this is not working for people who are most affected in these disasters.’”

Tegart says the time to act is now and the biggest frustration for residents in the region is waiting.

“Step up to the plate. Let people know what’s available to them. Let’s get them planning for their future,” she said. “We are two months out from the flood and what’s the next step for people on Highway 8, what is the government stepping up and offering for people who have been devastated.”

Brown says the new units would be built in the short-term for displaced residents, who may or may not stay there in the longer term.

“Hopefully we could either sell or rent [beyond short-term use], and that all depends on the individual needs of the family,” said Brown. “My thought is we would look at them being permanent and we wouldn’t need to re-sell or look at them anywhere else.”

In an ideal world, mayor Brown would also like a new wastewater treatment plant built higher up in the city — a project she estimates would need between $20 to $40 million from the province.

Farnworth was not available to comment on the specific timeline for funding for Merritt, but in a statement to CFJC Today he’s working with the city to address its needs “as quickly as possible.”

“We are working with Merritt to support the reimbursement of emergency response costs and Disaster Financial Assistance.”

Farnworth adds there are still immediate supports “to people who have been evacuated from their homes including lodging, food, clothing, and incidentals.”

To date, the NDP government has distributed $13.7 million to 6,840 flood-evacuated homes this year.