Hurricane Juan Disaster Financial Assistance Update

EMERGENCY MEASURES ORGANIZATION- Hurricane Juan Disaster Financial Assistance Update

The provincial Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) plans to have all the Hurricane Juan disaster financial assistance applications (DFAA) from the fishery and agriculture sectors completed by mid February.

The majority of residential and small business applications under the program are expected to be completed by the end of March.

In total, 1,424 applications were received for disaster financial assistance. Six hundred and ninety-five applications came from farmers, fishers, small businesses and individuals. To date, 384 of these applications have been completed with more than $1.35 million already being distributed.

"This is the largest disaster financial assistance program the province has ever administered and I am pleased with the progress we are making," said Ernest Fage, Minister responsible for the Emergency Measures Act.

"It takes time to review each application, especially considering the federal eligibility guidelines we must follow are subject to broad interpretation and require extensive consultation with the federal government. Individuals who submitted applications, however, deserve to know that their applications are going to be completed in a timely fashion and that is why we have initiated the completion target dates."

Friday, Feb. 13, 2004, is the target to have all the fishery and agriculture applications completed. "Completed" means the applications have been screened for eligibility, evaluated, a payment amount established and the payment is either made or a letter of commitment provided. EMO has also set the date of March 31, 2004 to have 80 per cent of the residential and business applications processed.

The remaining 729 applications involve woodlots where applicants will be paid after they have completed the required silvaculture work. Since restoration work is still on going, no payments have yet been made for woodlot restoration. Applicants have been given until March 31, 2005 to complete the work.

The following is a breakdown of the disaster financial assistance applications to date:

Agriculture sector: 107 applications received, 43 completed
Fishery sector: 206 applications received, 150 completed
Residential sector: 239 applications received, 146 completed
Small business sector: 143 applications received, 45 completed
Forestry sector: 729 applications received, 0 completed.