The province limits disaster relief and expands eligibility to buy up homes damaged by flooding
New Brunswick is making changes to disaster financial assistance when it comes to payouts and acquisitions.
Public Safety Secretary Kris Austin said disaster relief in New Brunswick totaled about $335 million from 2014-2020. The province is responsible for $76 million of that number, with the federal government covering the rest, he said.
At a news conference this week, Austin said changes needed to be made because the government “cannot afford to business as usual” as the frequency and intensity of weather events continue to increase.
“We also balance helping residents affected by these disasters with protecting taxpayers to ensure that balance is struck and people receive the assistance they need,” Austin said.
Changes to the program include increasing the maximum payout for structural damage and capping the amount of assistance a property owner can claim for the same type of disaster.
The province is also expanding eligibility for a buyout – where the government buys damaged property from the owner due to flood damage.
Lisa Munn, recovery operations manager for the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization, said the structural damage payout limit will be raised from $160,000 to $200,000, which she says is based on the value of a “modest three-bedroom bungalow.”
Previously, the maximum payout was $160,000, but owners could claim multiple times if the same type of disaster caused damage year after year.
Now the maximum payout limit is higher, but it will be capped so property owners can no longer receive assistance for the same type of disaster after that amount has been awarded.
For example, Munn said if a property is damaged three times by overland flooding and they file three claims of $60,000, $60,000 and $80,000 respectively, that property would no longer be eligible for disaster financial assistance for future claims.
Eligibility for post-disaster buyouts will also be lowered, Munn said. Previously, a home had to suffer damage estimated at 80 percent of the property’s fair market value to be offered a buyout.
But now the threshold has changed to 50 percent for a single event or 80 percent for cumulative claims across multiple disasters, Munn said.
For example, a $200,000 home would now be offered a buyout if there was $100,000 in damage.
When a person purchases a buyout for their flood-damaged property, the building is leveled and the property becomes crown land.
If the individual chooses not to take over and opts for disaster financial assistance instead, they can claim up to $200,000.
If they accept a buyout after previously receiving disaster financial assistance, their buyout will be awarded based on what’s left before the cap is reached, Austin said.
“By capping the $200,000, we’re telling residents, ‘Look, you had an opportunity to take on this buyout and go to a safer place. Because if you choose to stay there, which is your choice, we will help you. But We will only help you up to an amount of US$200,000.’”
Austin said expanding buyout eligibility was a need he felt as an MLA for Fredericton-Grand Lake.
He said it’s an area that’s been badly hit by flooding in the past.
Austin said he spent a lot of time going door to door and meeting with people affected by flood damage.
“I felt the frustration, I felt it,” Austin said. “A lot of these people…wanted to buy out, they wanted to leave their property, they wanted to move on. But unfortunately that [disaster financial assistance] in its previous form it didn’t give them the opportunity to do that.”
He said the changes made would “make it easier for people to get out of the danger zone.”
