Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, people were asked to evacuate in the face of wildfires that were threatening communities. So as far as being ordered to leave, it was not done lightly. It was done in the interests of safety to protect residents but also to protect first responders, to protect firefighters, to protect infrastructure. So just to draw a distinct line, there this is not the same as the situation under CERB. We are also not the federal government and don't have the deep pockets of the federal government and we're doing our best to try to make our programs such that they could be affordable for the GNWT, that if possible, we could still see reimbursement by the federal government. In the case of both of the support payments, it is unlikely that they're going to be supported back by the federal government's disaster assistance programs, and with respect -- so I gather that this is now with respect to the travel subsidy. Mr. Speaker, so the travel subsidy is really -- was meant to be for those folks who didn't have access to the flight evacuation option or who had -- didn't have access to, you know -- again, there was accommodations being offered, food being offered, and some fuel costs being offered. So it was really just meant to be if there were some additional costs being incurred that we weren't aware of or hadn't accounted for. That's what that was supposed to be. Thank you.
Caroline Wawzonek on Question 10-20(1): Evacuation Travel Support Program
In the Legislative Assembly on February 6th, 2024. See this statement in context.
Question 10-20(1): Evacuation Travel Support Program
Oral Questions
February 6th, 2024
Page 26
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