SOUND OFF: Disaster Financial Assistance fails to meet needs of British Columbians

MY HEART STILL BREAKS as I think back to the events of 2021, which saw the destruction of Lytton and the evacuation of over 7,000 Merritt residents due to flooding. People were forced to abandon their homes and evacuate the community overnight. Tragically, many residents in both Lytton and Merritt have yet to return home and rebuild their lives.

If losing their family homes and community wasn’t bad enough, a new report from the B.C. Ombudsperson has been released highlighting the added struggles that so many faced during this challenging time. Government mismanagement led many to be subjected to long lines, uncaring responses, and harsh conditions as they tried to get support.

While the Ombudsperson report focused on the events of 2021, it was jarring to realize that the same challenges people faced getting help two years ago are even worse today. The report made it all too clear that government has not learned from the past but is continuing to repeat the same mistakes — and British Columbians are left paying the price.

Year after year, people across B.C. are traumatized as they experience evacuation alerts and orders, not knowing if they will have a home to return to. On top of that stress, they are forced to navigate through a messy, bureaucratic system to get any sort of disaster relief or support from the provincial government. It is well known that the Emergency Support Services program has not been enough to meet the growing needs in our province, yet the government has refused to take meaningful action that will help rebuild people’s lives.