The disasters of 2010 have proven to be an important test for the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP). As a result, provincial government has announced some improvements to the program in order to help people in need of assistance.
PDAP, which provides financial assistance for essential, uninsurable property damaged by floods, tornadoes, plow winds or severe storms, will be seeing increases in many areas.
"After experiencing the flood and recovering from the flood in the past few weeks, I think the community is ready for some good news... This good news for our community will also affect the 119 other communities which have declared disasters from this unprecedented storm season," says Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit.
The deductible for private claimants will be reduced from 20 per cent to five per cent. The maximum amount of financial assistance available to principal resident claimants has been increased from $160,000 to $240,000. This has also been extended to landlords which operate as a small business, in order to include rental units in the assessment.
The maximum amount of assistance to eligible small businesses, non-profit organizations, boards, and primary agricultural enterprises increased from $160,000 to $500,000. The Saskatchewan residency requirement for small businesses and agricultural enterprise owners has been eliminated as well.
The relocation payment has been separated from the property claim, and has been set at $30,000 as well.
Regional park authorities will be receiving the same eligibility status as municipalities and the deductible for both will be fixed at 0.15 per cent of their current taxable assessment.
The changes to the program will be retroactive to April 1, 2010, in order to benefit those affected by the summer storms in the province.
"I have personally seen the destruction that the storms in June and July have caused, and I can appreciate the emotional and financial hardship now being felt by people trying to put their lives back together. It is my hope and the hope of Premier Brad Wall that these improvements to PDAP can alleviate some of the stress so that the process of recovery can continue," Ottenbreit adds.
While initial payments of $3,000 have been delivered through the program, Ottenbreit says the government hopes to reduce the waiting time for more payments. He notes that they expect the next payment to be around five months, which he emphasizes is an improvement on the 12-18 months which used to be the time between application and payment.
"Instead of not having any money for 12-18 months, the Premier designated that we would get the average payout to everyone immediately, and then we would assess the increases later on... While $3,000 isn't enough to get your life back on track, it is enough to hold you over until you get those issues straightened out and to look at some of the changes PDAP needed," Ottenbreit notes.
Mayor James Wilson is pleased to see the increases available through PDAP, and says that the increases in funding will help citizens and the city rebuild, and help the economy by bringing money back into the area.
Wilson also credits frequent visits from high level government officials, including Premier Brad Wall, with being vital to getting the program to help more people.
"If you take a look at this program, I give credit to the Government, because this is an old program that has been revised by the current situation, the need to the public, and listening to the citizens," Wilson concludes.
