MONTHS AFTER CALGARY HAILSTORM, UCP STILL REFUSE TO OFFER SUPPORT

CALGARY - Nearly seven months since the devastating hailstorm that hit northeast Calgary, tens of thousands of residents are still waiting for help to fix damaged property as the UCP government refuses to provide any support.

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, 60 per cent of the roughly 70,000 claims for the June hailstorm were processed at the end of November. At $1.4 billion in damage, it was the fourth costliest natural disaster in Canada. 

“The residents of northeast Calgary were already suffering due to the global pandemic,” said Irfan Sabir, NDP MLA for Calgary-McCall. “Now it’s the middle of winter and residents still have holes in their roofs and boarded up windows. They’re paying more in heating costs and face the risk of further damage to their properties the longer they go without repairs.”

The UCP has not provided financial support for hail damage, citing it as an insurable loss and therefore not qualifying under the province’s Disaster Recovery Program (DRP). However, the government previously provided DRP assistance to residents of Fort McMurray during the 2020 floods even though overland flooding insurance is obtainable. 

“Providing support to the people of Fort McMurray was the right thing to do,” said Sabir. “And the right thing to do for the people of northeast Calgary is to provide them with the same level of support. We don’t have time for bureaucratic excuses and double standards. We need help now.”