NORTHEAST CALGARY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR HAIL STORM RELIEF

CALGARY -- Several community organizations in northeast are calling on Premier Jason Kenney and his UCP government to provide disaster relief funding after the area was hit by a recent hail storm. 

The letter, co-signed by five community association groups as well as five resource and cultural centres, states that insurance companies are only willing to cover a portion of the costs from the damage — generally about 20 per cent — due to “fine print” in their policies and are charging extremely high deductibles. The letter continues that this situation is made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic that has seen job losses and a slowing economy, which has added to the financial and mental stress to those affected. It concludes by requesting the UCP government set up a disaster relief fund to help with the recovery. 

“Jason Kenney has abandoned those impacted by the hail storm. He keeps telling Calgarians to talk to their insurance provider, but clearly that isn’t enough,” said Irfan Sabir, MLA for Calgary-McCall. “Many people were uninsured or underinsured after facing job losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For many, this is just one disaster on top of another.”

Kenney toured the damaged area on Saturday, but did not mention any promises of aid or any updates despite promising in the Legislature that advice would be coming from his officials “within a few days.”

“Instead of showing up with empty hands and promises, Jason Kenney needs to provide real relief to Calgarians,” said Sabir. “Enough with the delays.”