Valeriote presses province for help in landslide aftermath
Lions Bay's provincial representative went to bat for a local family in the legislature this week, seeking support after they were left with nothing following a deadly landslide.
On December 14, a landslide swept down Battani Creek above Brunswick Beach. It wiped out a family home, killing long term residents Barbara and David Enns.
MLA Jeremy Valeriote told Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Kelly Greene that the bereaved son and daughter of Barbara and David Enns have been denied disaster financial assistance. He said they were told the event was not sufficiently wide-spread or extensive to warrant financial support.
Valeriote added the family told him this seemed an attempt to "wash their hands of us, because we don't have a loud-enough voice."
"The magnitude of the event shouldn't matter," he said in his statement to the house. "We feed cynicism when our government isn't there for people when it should be."
Valeriote welcomed Greene's statement last week that disaster financial assistance criteria is currently under review. He said that while help from an emergency response fund for the clean-up is also appreciated, the Enns home was their legacy for their children and grandchildren.
The family meets the required numbers of policy indicators, he added, questioning why they are being denied financial assistance.
After offering her condolences to the family, Greene noted that disaster financial assistance is available for eligible, sudden, unexpected and widespread events, and invited Valeriote to return her office to continue the conversation.
Valeriote noted that the Union of BC Municipalities has called for long-term, secure funding to help mitigate the ever-increasing severity of disasters related to climate change, including landslides, wildfires and flooding, and asked if the province would commit to establishing such funding.
Greene acknowledged the increasing severity of climate-related disasters. "We know we need to support communities to be more resilient and to be able to recover more quickly when disaster strikes," she said.
She pointed to partnerships with communities and First Nations, and said the government is working to make sure they have an understanding of, and are able to meet, the differing needs of BC communities.
She said the government has provided $487 million in funding to help communities prepare and help mitigate risks, and taken steps to improve responsiveness, including the now year-round availability of the BC Wildfire Service.
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I trust that our MLA, Jeremy Valeriote, is aware that our community appreciates his support.