The remains of a Loon Lake property destroyed by the 2017 Elephant Hill wildfire (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

Disaster Financial Assistance

Kamloops MLA’s bill would overhaul Disaster Financial Assistance, provide more support for uninsured

Jun 6, 2022 | 2:42 PM

KAMLOOPS — The MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson says some simple changes could bring B.C.’s Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) program into the 21st Century.

Todd Stone says DFA has not had a significant overhaul in 50 years. He has prepared a private member’s bill that includes several changes to the program, such as offering more support to the underinsured and uninsured.

“There are a whole bunch of homeowners in different parts of the Interior and the north who, in recent years, have experienced massive loss if not total loss and were not covered by insurance — not because they didn’t want to purchase it but rather insurance coverage was not available and, in many cases, is not available today for fire insurance in these rural areas,” Stone told CFJC Today.

“[It] would simplify and streamline the DFA process, would address areas of rural British Columbia that cannot access insurance,” said Stone. “The bill would address some affordability issues around insurance costs and provide for the ability of government to actually create some kind of grant program that would help offset some of the costs of insurance in rural areas.”

In addition, the changes would extend the application deadline from 60 days to 120 days and remove an exclusion related to content stored in basements.

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“There’s many provisions within the DFA program that simply are not reflective of the current scope and scale and frequency of natural disasters — in our neck of the woods, largely talking wildfires.”

Stone noted had these changes been in place last year, they would have helped Monte Lake and Paxton Valley-area property owners whose homes were destroyed by the White Rock Lake wildfire.

As a private member’s bill, the changes would need to come forward while the legislature is sitting. MLAs returned home last week as the legislature broke for the summer months.

But Stone says the government is free to enact these recommendations before the bill comes forward in the legislature.

“The government promised that they would be overhauling the Emergency Program Act five years ago, and that they would be doing it next year, and then it’s next year and then it’s next year and it just keeps going on and on,” said Stone. “What we’re trying to do here is shine a bright light on some of those sensible and practical changes that would make a real difference for people.”

by James Peters

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Kamloops MLA’s bill would overhaul Disaster Financial Assistance, provide more support for uninsured

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