The Ontario government is providing funding through the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance (MDRA)program to help the Township of Hilliard recover from a landslide.
Heavy snowfall on Oct. 29, 2019 and sudden snowmelt resulted in a landslide on Veley Road – a major access route for residents, farmers, and emergency service providers. As a result, the township may be eligible for as much as $500,000 in provincial disaster recovery assistance funding which could be used to help rebuild and repair the road.
“As partners with municipalities, we must ensure that everyone in the province has access to the necessary infrastructure and services they need to maintain their quality of life,” said Steve Clark, minister of municipal affairs and housing. “By accessing this funding, Hilliard will be able to make essential repairs to local infrastructure that was damaged by the landslide.”
Ontario’s MDRA program helps municipalities address extraordinary emergency response costs and damage to essential property or infrastructure like bridges, roads and public buildings, as a result of a natural disaster.
Eligible expenses may include operating and capital costs that are over and above regular municipal budgets and are directly linked to the disaster. Municipalities may be eligible for the program if its disaster-related costs reach a threshold of three per cent of its own-purpose taxation levy.