WATCH: Mark Carcasole reports on how the relief funds raised for displaced Angus residents is causing strain among victims of the tornado.
TORONTO – It’s been exactly six months since an Ef2 tornado touched down and devastated a community in Angus, Ontario.
When Premier Kathleen Wynne toured the wreckage left behind on Stonemount Crescent on June 20 she wouldn’t commit to providing Angus with provincial relief funding, saying only to reporters that “there’s a process to go through. What’s important is that we stay in touch with the community.”
The community remained optimistic, though. Which is why they took it so hard when the town’s request for funding was turned down in late-October.
“It was a shock for council, it was a shock for the whole community,” says Essa township Mayor Terry Dowdall.
He was hoping some of that funding could help cover the $55,000 spent on staff overtime and equipment rental in the wake of the tornado.
A letter from the province told the township the decision was based mostly on the fact that it seemed to the province that most of the damage was covered by insurance. A point that Mayor Dowdall disputes.
“To me, it seems hard to believe that it was really studied that closely.”
Some Angus residents that spoke to Global News even expressed personal beliefs the decision was politically motivated.
WATCH: Drone captures tornado damage in Angus
The riding of Simcoe-Grey has been held by the Progressive Conservatives since its creation in 1999, and longtime local MPP Jim Wilson was named interim leader of the PC party months before the Liberal government’s decision on funding.
The province also felt that the funds raised by the municipality itself through various initiatives, including a benefit concert, would go far enough to cover any uninsured losses.
Angus’ funding drive raised about $140,000 for residents and businesses whose properties were damaged. But the handling and dissemination of that money has created a storm in its own right.
Following provincial rules, the town council created a six-citizen panel to oversee the money. In the interest of fairness, the committee is made up of people who were not affected by the storm. They will act as the gatekeepers; reviewing applications and deciding who gets how much, if any at all.
That setup has raised the ire of several residents, including Terry Manning, who is still waiting to move back into his damaged home. He would prefer to see the money, currently being held in trust, divided evenly amongst all of the over 130 property owners affected by the twister.
“It was given all in good faith by individuals and corporations with the understanding that it would be shared amongst all the affected people,” he said.
That concern is echoed by his neighbour Wayne King, who says residents could use the money to recoup at least some losses accrued by “incidental costs.” He says he has spoken to one man who claims expenditures like gas, as well as early hotel bills, restaurant meals, clothes and more will leave him about $17,000 in the hole.
“Obviously, the first three or four days after the tornado, who’s thinking straight to get any receipts?”
King is behind the launch of a petition signed by over 100 people over the last week. He and his family were themselves displaced for more than 70 days after the tornado, but now he says he just wants to help his fellow residents.
The petition, titled “Make Changes to the Angus Tornado Relief Fund Application,” also calls for a six-month extension to the current January 30 application deadline; ensuring those who are currently covered by insurance but still out of home have adequate time to respond to any unexpected and uncovered costs that could creep up after they move back in.
“I don’t want to see them not be able to put in an application for the relief fund, or even put one in and then find more stuff that they’re liable for.”
Mayor Dowdall says there’s not much he can do to address those concerns. For accountability purposes, the fund is run at arm’s length from council.
He says he’s confident in the committee to do right by residents, and “as for the timeframe…There’s the other side where people are saying ‘we could really use that money,’ so I don’t know how long we would want to hold off.”
Concerned residents are encouraging each other and supporters to send letters to local MPP, Jim Wilson. They have set up a Facebook group and will get a chance to publicly address the Essa Township Council at its meeting on January 21.
Comments