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MERRITT’S E-PETITION FOR DISASTER RELIEF HITS SIGNATURE GOAL City hopes to secure federal funding for flood prevention and mitigation efforts TY LIM
reporter@merrittherald.com
The City of Merritt’s e-petition to plead its case to receive disaster prevention funding from the Federal Government has closed as it reaches its signature goal. The petition, known as e-5135 supports both municipalities of Princeton and Merritt, two areas ravaged by the 2021 floods, in receiving approval for their applications to the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF). “My family was displaced. So yeah, it’s you don’t know what it feels like until you’re homeless. And when you’re homeless, it’s different. So I don’t want anybody else in this valley to feel that. So we need to, as a mayor and council, continue to keep our foot on the gas to get this money,” said Mike Goetz, Merritt’s mayor. Created by the city’s Flood Mitigation team, 500 signatures were requested on the petition so Dan Albas, MP of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, can advocate for the cities to receive a portion of DMAF funding in Canada’s next session of Parliament. The petition
PHOTO : CITY OF MERRITT
A drone image shows the aftermath of the flooding on Nov. 15, 2021. Three years later, the City of Merritt still battles to secure proper funding for flood prevention and mitigation efforts.
closed Jan. 11. Since Parliament was prorogued on Jan. 6, the cities will have to wait until at least March with the possibility of further pushback. Albas previously made his case in Parliament last September.
“In 2021, these communities were devastated by massive floods. The prime minister told them ‘that he had their backs’. Ministers visit, telling them to hang tight for their new Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund. The municipalities’ apply, jump through
every hoop, spending hundreds of thousands in engineering studies only to be denied,” he said during his time on the floor. “Adding insult to injury, communities that never experienced flooding or fires NO QUIT: continued on page 3
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