Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Ontario government is providing the Town of Fort Erie with up to $7.4 million in provincial disaster recovery funding to help repair essential municipal infrastructure including roads, trails, a water main, shoreline protection and docks.
Financial support is being provided through the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance (MDRA) program.
On Oct. 31, 2019, an extraordinary storm with strong winds and destructive waves led to flooding along the shoreline and significant damage to local infrastructure. At the peak of the storm, sustained winds of 100 km/h were recorded for several hours, and waves on eastern Lake Erie were as high as 16.5 feet.
“The Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance program is an important source of funding for municipalities who have suffered extensive damage due to unexpected natural disasters,” said Steve Clark, minister of municipal affairs and housing.
“Our government is proud to support our municipal partners like Fort Erie to help them rebuild and recover, without facing unfair financial burdens as a result of natural disasters beyond their control.”
Ontario’s MDRA program helps municipalities address extraordinary emergency response costs as well as damage to essential property or infrastructure like bridges, roads and public buildings, as a result of a natural disaster.
- Eligible expenses under the program may include operating and capital costs that are over and above regular municipal budgets and are directly linked to the disaster.
- A municipality may be eligible for the program if its disaster-related costs reach a threshold of three per cent of its own-purpose taxation levy.
