The Manitoba government has committed to covering most of the rebuilding costs for roads, culverts and bridges damaged by spring flooding.
Intergovernmental affairs minister Steve Ashton announced that municipalities would have to pay only $5 per capita of their disaster claim.
After that level is reached, the province will assume 100 percent of the costs.
“Before this change was made, the municipalities would have to pay 10 percent of their total claim,” said Joe Masi, executive director of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities. “So you take the RM of Morris having a $10 million claim, potentially, they would have to pay $1 million…. That would be a huge impact on the municipal budget.”
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Masi said this change is great news for municipal governments in the province, but will be especially helpful for rural municipalities in the Red River Valley, which have to repair infrastructure following the second largest flood in Manitoba’s history.
Heavy spring rains in western Manitoba also damaged roads and washed out culverts in the RMs of Minto, near Minnedosa, and Blanshard, north of Brandon.
Ashton said $40 million would be made available to cover the cost of flooding claims, private residence and municipal, across the province.
