Rachel Notley wants changes to federal disaster assistance

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley wants to work with the federal government in improving disaster assistance.

Notley, speaking on the last day of the premiers meeting in Whitehorse, said premiers want to see some clarification on disaster recovery efforts.

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The conversation comes a couple months after wildfires devastated Fort McMurray and destroyed more than 2,000 structures.

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“We clearly are seeing an increased frequency in terms of these kinds of natural disasters,” Notley said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We clearly are seeing an increased frequency in terms of these kinds of natural disasters," Notley said.

The premier said there is a need to talk to the federal government about the process around compensating under DFAA (Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements), the timeliness of the compensation model as well as how decisions made by the previous federal government impact provincial bottom lines.

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“The time it takes to get compensation back, in terms of the scope of what’s eligible for compensation, in terms of disaster response – those were a couple of the key issues,” Notley said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The time it takes to get compensation back, in terms of the scope of what's eligible for compensation, in terms of disaster response - those were a couple of the key issues," Notley said.

Notley said the premiers talked about the need to work collaboratively and intentionally around mitigation efforts with respect to disaster prevention, whether it is fire-related or flood-related.

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The Alberta premier said she looks forward to working with the federal government on how to make preventative actions as well as actions taken after a disaster better coordinated, saying it is an issue of information sharing.

Notley also said the provinces and territories want to have more support from the federal government when it comes to mitigation.

She said, as it stands right now, provinces do a lot of the heavy lifting and they want to work in a more integrated way with the federal government “because these things cross borders.”