Following an inquiry from the Truro Daily News about the status of flood relief applications, Justice Minister Ross Landry said in an e-mailed response that the province has so far provided almost $970,000 to assist affected residents.
“We moved quickly to announce the program,”Landry said. “Since September, we have completed two-thirds of the claims received and have paid out nearly $970,000.
About 20 claims are open, and we have meetings with 16 more home and business owners.”
Assessors were also scheduled to meet with more applicants on Thursday, he said.
Landry said the number and value of claims registered has been greater than anticipated “and it simply takes longer to process a larger claim than a smaller one. We want to pay folks the funding they’re eligible for.”
The province also had to document its payouts for the federal government, which will reimburse Nova Scotia for payouts to eligible home and business owners.
“We thank them for their patience,” Landry said. “I know that it hasn’t been easy for them.”
In October, the provincial government announced that because of the severity of the flooding, it was increasing the maximum per applicant eligible amount of relief assistance to $80,000 for homeowners and business operators whose revenue is $2 million a year or less.
Previously, the cap had been set at $50,000 per application.
As well, the assistance cap for not-for-profit organizations was set at $200,000 per application.
