N.S. housing minister to meet with federal government about disaster financial assistance
The Mennonite Disaster Service, a volunteer group, has been helping the United Way and residents in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality recover from post-tropical storm Fiona, but that help will end on Saturday.
“They made their best effort to educate homeowners to say that everything that's wet inside your home will grow mould if you don't gut it and dry out the home,” said Lynne McCarron, executive director of United Way Cape Breton.
McCarron says, with winter coming, people are more hesitant to do the proper renovations, and many can't afford them.
“So they're more likely to live in mould than they are to do the right thing,” she said.
The province has received more than 530 applications for the disaster financial assistance program, which are being processed, and more applications are still coming in.
“I think we've done extremely well so far, although I realize it hasn't moved fast enough for people, but by comparison, in Dorian, it hadn't been announced yet,” said John Lohr, Nova Scotia’s municipal affairs and housing minister.
Lohr says whatever financial means are needed will be sent out to those eligible for assistance through the program.
“It’s for uninsurable losses generally,” said Lohr.
He says it's unclear, at this point, how much of the $300-million fund announced by the federal government the province will receive for communities and organizations.
“We got the federal government to agree to a broader definition on tree removal. And I’ll be heading to Ottawa next week to talk to the federal government about EMO. There's always going to be issues and we know people are hurting out there and we're very concerned about them,” said Lohr.
Applications for the financial assistance program are open until Jan. 31.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.