Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of MACA explain why under the disaster assistance policy the term "disaster" is narrowly defined to those events that affects a large area or a large number of people from an extraordinary event? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for MACA.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the disaster assistance program is a governmentfunded assistance program to ensure essential community functions and cover the basic needs of residents and businesses. That is not an insurance program that covers all losses or is applied to events affecting a single property.
Mr. Speaker, the requirement is for only applying the DAP for widespread damage in line with the disaster assistance policy across Canada with the criteria of the federal disastrous financial assistance arrangement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain why a tornado is not listed under the list of emergencies that may be eligible for disaster assistance? And can the Minister clarify if a tornado does occur in an NWT community, would people be eligible for coverage? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The definition in the disaster assistance program are in line with the disaster assistance policies across Canada. The definition of "emergency" does not exclude tornados and has provisions to include any other sudden events of unusual proportion caused by nature's phenomenon. This leaves the opportunity for tornados to be considered if either criteria for applying this policy are met and if the results is a widespread situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain why under the list of excluded emergencies, disaster coverage will not be eligible to people due to an extraordinary event that affected only a single property? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the definition of "emergency" speaks to events of unusual proportion. The criteria clearly outlines the requirements for an event to affect a large area or a number of people. Across Canada, and the majority of the world, disaster assistance programs are not applied to events affecting a single property. The intent of such disaster assistance programs are to ensure the continued function of a community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain if he believes the updated disaster assistance policy is sufficient in its eligible coverage offered to NWT residents who endure a natural disaster, or if the Minister believes the policy is lacking? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the DAP was evaluated and approved following the 2021 flood and, again, is under revision this year as we have learned since applying it to the 2022 flood. While no policy is perfect, we are confident in meeting the intent to help communities and residents recover from a widespread disaster.
Mr. Speaker, DAP is not a compensation program and is not an insurance program that covers all losses. It is a governmentfunded assistance program to ensure essential community functions and covers the essential basic needs of residents and businesses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
