If our shiny new NDP provincial government is looking for a project it can really sink its teeth into to show it’s more a party of the people than the PC operation it ousted, officials need look no further than Exshaw.
In Exshaw, you see, a hamlet now two years removed from the flood that devastated so much of southern Alberta, the disaster recovery program (DRP) is … well, let’s just call it a gong show.
Two years.
Two years now and some residents are still not safely ensconced in their own homes – in one of the most well off provinces in this country. Imagine, if you will, placing your life on hold for two years.
Worse yet, they’re now being told to pack their bags and get out of the temporary housing they’ve been living in – by the end of the month. No rush, all they have to do is get their mind into upheaval mode once again and try to another new accommodation scenario.
What immediately jumps to mind is, move where? As everybody in this valley knows, there are not a lot of housing options and, in particular, not a lot of affordable housing options.
This order to move out adds insult to injury and will only increase the level of stress, aggravation and helplessness these Exshaw residents have been enduring.
And when you look at the disparity of the DRP situation between Exshaw and Canmore, where far more applications have been closed and monies paid out, it makes you wonder what’s gone wrong.
Handed a notice to vacate, some renters will now have to find other digs, while some homeowners, in more dire straits, will also have to look elsewhere while continuing to pay off mortgages on homes they’re not living in.
There have been so many complaints about how flood claims were handled by LandLink, the contract operation charged with claims and investigations, from simply having to deal with a slow, onerous procedure, to homeowners complaining that many claims were refused as being due to previous damage …
Clearly, when a disaster of the magnitude of the 2013 flood occurs, the provincial government in place (PCs at the time), which is charged with protecting the interests of Albertans, after all, should not go the private contractor route in dealing with the aftermath.
And hearing from Alberta’s ombudsman that his hands are tied in assisting anyone with outstanding claims until every single other possible avenue has been exhausted is no help at all.
After all, we’re talking about homeowners and residents here, not professional lobbyists, not lawyers used to dealing with the intricacies and obstructions of government ennui.
Is the situation now getting to the point where settling outstanding claims and ensuring everyone is back in their homes, without further aggravation, nobody’s responsibility?
Should new MLA Cam Westhead be searching for a way to earn massive brownie points in his riding, he need look no further than trying to make something positive happen for the good people of Exshaw.
