Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions are for the Minister of MACA.
Mr. Speaker, last weekend, I saw a convoy of Samaritan's Purse volunteers and equipment arrive in Hay River to assist those needing supports to evade flood damage. Prior to the arrival of Samaritan's Purse to Hay River, the Hay River Metis Government Council, the Hay River Old Timers Hockey Club, and many volunteers have been providing that assistance.
Other than volunteers, can the Minister confirm what is being done to support abatement efforts for those properties impacted by flooding and who is covering the cost? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we lined up four abatement companies to get in there, into the community, as soon as it was safely to do so.
In regards to the cost, the GNWT government is coordinating emergency work with, and the GNWT will cover the cost for those who prefer to coordinate the work themselves, there's an opportunity to submit backup documentation and seek reimbursement for work through an eventual claiming for disaster assistance. But if they use the four companies right now, that will be covered by the GNWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, currently we have victims of the flood in the South Slave using up their savings while waiting on this government to provide some temporary financial assistance.
Can the Minister confirm what efforts are being made to assist those residents impacted by flooding with some temporary financial relief while they're waiting on assessments to be completed? Has this government identified funds to provide this assistance? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, advance payments can be issued based on the detailed damage assessments. So in other words, we ask the impacted residents to reach out to our pathfinders, register, then we get our assessors in there, and then we're able to do that. Then we work with the community members to make sure that they understand what we're doing, then if they need to go do an advance it takes seven to ten days to get it done. So we work with them on that there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the level of damage to homes and property varies from minimal water damage to the complete loss of one's home.
Will the Minister confirm if the assessments in some way be prioritized to facilitate timely financial compensation to those most in need? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Damage assessment reports are being provided by the assessment contracting to MACA as they become completed. So in other words, as soon as the assessors are completing their report, it's given to our pathfinders. From that time, the damage assessors are at the home to the time their reports are provided to the homeowners can take several weeks. We ask the people to be patient. We have seven assessors on the ground, and they are working hard to get this work done. But we also want them to take the required time that they need to go through with the assessment. So what we're trying to do is we're going as fast as we can. We are quicker than we learnt from our last flood experience. We have assessors lined up. They're working with people. As they register, we're meeting with them. We're explaining the process. So once the process is done, if they need an advance then we work with them on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, victims of flooding are wanting to know what will be covered under DAP and if there are restrictions on who they can use as contractors.
Can the Minister confirm when residents will expect to see a standardized list of items with values and approved contractors? Thank you.
Thank you, and I thank the Member for that question.
So the first part is in regards to the standardized list. Last year, we developed a standardized list. We provided that to the people that were impacted. Then we put a value to it. This year, we have that standardized list but because of inflation, we want to make sure that it's more current information. We should have that information available early next week and pathfinders into the insurance companies, the MLAs, and to the assessors as well. So we'll have that information available.
In regards to contractors, should an individual wish to use a contractor, that's their choice. We have the abatement companies, those four there like I talked about, but there may be other abatement companies out there available where people can use. As well as for contractors for work and that, we encourage them if they have somebody they want to use, to use them and that there.
One of the questions, or comments in the Member's statement was, you know, there's people in their homes that are not doing that. We're telling people to get in there, get the work done, you know, if they need to hire contractors, work there, but, you know, make sure you register, take pictures, and keep track of the time you put into repairing their homes or businesses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
