Helping to Make Life Better In Meat Cove, Op-ed

NOTE: The following is an op-ed piece by Justice Minister Ross Landry

Aug. 21, will mark one year since overnight torrential rains caused flash flooding that carried away sections of roads, collapsed bridges and inundated homes and businesses in Meat Cove and surrounding areas.

As the rain was falling, the province had already begun working hand-in-hand with many caring people to help the 100 affected residents and 26 trapped tourists stay safe and as comfortable as possible. Working with federal and municipal partners, the province brought in medical care, food and supplies by boat to ensure families were cared for, while provincial road crews began around-the-clock efforts to re-establish road access.

Since that time, our commitment to help the community recover has not wavered. Despite the financial challenges the government is addressing, we understand that communities face hardships after an event of this kind, and that the people most severely affected need help to get back on their feet. The province has been working closely with our municipal and federal partners all year to provide that help to families in Meat Cove. As a result, a great deal has been accomplished.

Immediately following the storm, the province, municipality and federal government provided $67-thousand in emergency grants to Meat Cove. About $37-thousand of that was given to the community centre for repairs based on estimates provided by engineers. The remainder was earmarked for emergency clean up of debris, and the community hired local residents to do that work. Shortly after, the province and the federal government also committed over $7-million in disaster financial assistance to repair damages to local and provincial infrastructure, homes, small businesses and non-profit organizations in the community.

I am proud to say that within a month of announcing a disaster assistance program, people in the area received a total of $80-thousand dollars in disaster assistance to help them make essential repairs to their primary homes and small businesses.

The province has also been working to help the municipality receive as much in disaster assistance as possible. In April, government received municipal damage assessments and estimates for repairs to local infrastructure such as the bridge to the beach, and the river bed. The municipality is eligible for another $300-thousand in disaster assistance and will be reimbursed as soon as the work is finished. The municipality will be prepared to issue tenders within weeks.

Temporary bridges in Meat Cove and Bay St. Lawrence were put in place and roads were reopened within five days of the flash food. Those sturdy structures have remained while work on permanent replacements continued. Over the winter, the province took major steps toward more permanent repairs, completing work on bridge designs, alignments, environmental and archeological assessments, and regulatory permits.

Today, the vast majority of the necessary preliminary work is complete. A tender for the permanent bridge at Bay St. Lawrence will be issued in about two weeks, while a tender for the new bridge in Meat Cove will be issued within a month. As much work as possible on the permanent bridges will be completed this construction season, and both permanent bridges will be finished early next season.

All repairs to provincial roads in the area are also complete and residents and visitors alike have for some time been enjoying roads that are upgraded to high standards. These roads are now better able to withstand severe weather.

Last year was an unprecedented year for severe weather and the damages it caused in our province. The government is deeply committed to doing everything it can to help Nova Scotians, from one end of this province to the other, recover. In total, the province and federal government have declared four disaster assistance programs -- the most for a single year in Nova Scotia's history -- worth $19-million dollars for 2010 and we are continuing to look for more ways to help.

Today, for instance, I announced that commercial and non-profit wharves are now eligible for disaster assistance. Previously, wharves were not consistently eligible for all declared disaster assistance programs, despite being eligible under federal disaster assistance guidelines. This change will help ensure fishermen have use of one of the most critical tools of their trade. It will also take pressure off the many non-profit community organizations that own these important pieces of coastal infrastructure.

As the province heads into another hurricane season, we will continue to be there for Nova Scotia families who need help in hard times.