By Pepper Parr
August 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The announcement was going to be made sometime on Wednesday – but it didn’t arrive so Burlington still doesn’t know who is going to be Chair of the local Disaster Relief Committee that is required by the province before funds can be made available to people who have suffered hugely from the August 4th rainfall.
Mayor Rick Goldring does a television interview, wearing, for what is believed to be the first time his Chain of Office
A couple of weeks ago Mayor Goldring asked the Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) if they would take on the task of creating the Disaster Relief committee. BCF president Collen Mulholland, whose home was flooded, took on a herculean task of pulling together a team and has been in meetings with the 22 agencies that are part of what makes the city work as well as liaising with the provincial government through the offices of Burlington’s MPP Eleanor McMahon to ensure that the province has the information it needs. It is Flamborough MPP, also Minister of Housing and Community services, Ted McMeekin, who signs off on the Burlington request to be designated a disaster area.
We believed the BCF wanted a big announcement with major donations from several of the philanthropists and corporations to beef up the donations to date, which are at the less than $150,000 level.
Perhaps the people the BCF has been talking to needed to have their photographs updated for the announcement.
The scale of this map doesn’t allow us to show just how many dots there are – but each represents a home that was damaged in the August 4th flood.
For those who have not been directly impacted – it is difficult to appreciate the scope of this disaster. The Region advised us earlier today that 2053 applications have been received for the $1000. Exgratia payment the city will give people who have had sewers back up into their homes. That amount to more than $2 million dollars the Region is going to pay out.
Could that money have not been spent on preventive measures instead of being given to people who are at the desperate stage?
We are advised that the announcement as to who the chair will be and what will exist in terms of sub-committees to get things moving will be made on Thursday. The flood took place 23 days ago. Since that time the Samaritan’s Purse has done basic repair to more than 50 homes in Burlington.
Why is it that some organizations can get things into gear and have them moving while others – well, what can one say?
