astephenson@medicinehatnews.com
For the second time in less than a month, Premier Ed Stelmach is visiting southeast Alberta.
Unlike his last visit — specifically to tour the devastation left over from the June flooding, this visit has been in the works for months and is in part an attempt to reach out to smaller communities. The premier was in Bow Island earlier Wednesday, and in the evening he visited Elkwater to join residents in celebrating the official opening of their new community hall.
But while this visit may have been planned long before the flood hit, the disaster and its aftermath were still top of mind for many of the Elkwater area residents who came out to see the premier Wednesday night.
Floyd Haas told the News he was happy to see the premier in southeast Alberta again so soon.
“I think we are getting more attention, and basically we should, because what happened with the flood is basically a one in 200 years thing,” Haas said.
Haas added the premier will likely hear a lot of concerns from area flood victims frustrated over late-arriving relief cheques.
“They (the government) need to do a lot more in that area — coming up with the funding,” Haas said.
Robert Nemeth said he has run into a snag qualifying for disaster assistance, because the ranch he bought in 2003 — which he says suffered about $60,000 worth of flood damage — was set up as a family trust as part of a succession plan.
“I find out now under the disaster assistance program, I don’t qualify for anything because I’m a family trust,” he said. “But I still put 40 per cent of my income into the ranch and yet I don’t qualify for anything. There’s definitely something wrong with the system.”
Like Haas, Nemeth said he is glad to see the premier back in the area.
“I know these problems are not the premier’s fault — he’s just the manager at the top,” Nemeth said. “I bet he doesn’t even know some of this stuff exists.”
While Stelmach did not speak to media Wednesday night, Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Len Mitzel said the concerns being expressed by flood victims who have not yet received anything in disaster assistance are legitimate ones.
“That’s realistic, as far as I’m concerned,” Mitzel said. “I’ve expressed that to Alberta Emergency Management, and they have committed to getting cheques out faster and getting things done.”
Mitzel added it took time to pull in all the information that was required, but the government now has a responsibility to get cash flowing with as much flexibility as possible.
“On the majority of the cases that are out there, they have all the information now,” he said. “So that’s why I think it’s realistic to expect that these people will be getting their funding very, very quickly now.”
The premier will be in Medicine Hat Thursday. He is expected to ride in the Stampede parade in the morning, then offer welcoming remarks at noon at the Stampede grounds.
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.So the government is proud of it's relief efforts? Last night in Irvine I can confirm that the Province is "doing things faster" - they are now in full fledged bureaucratic mode and have begun denying the claims of families who have LOST EVERYTHING! The province is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on big (expensive) print ads and radio commercials telling everyone they "care" and how to apply for "help." But in Irvine last night, everyone agreed that the initial response by the County and the Province was incompetent - and as they fill out their forms and hope for some help - only 3 in their community got an $s and for one family, $2000 is ALL THEY WILL GET. Claims are starting to be processed and DENIED! People are homeless, people are scared, now they are getting ANGRY!