Alberta Metis settlement to get $9M in recovery funds: minister

A northern Alberta Metis settlement recovering from a May wildfire is set to receive a $9 million payment from the provincial government.

Jason Nixon, minister of seniors, community and social services, says the payment to East Prairie Metis Settlement, about 380 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, would help the community rebuild damaged homes.

He says the money is coming from the Indigenous Housing Capital Program.

In addition, Nixon says no provincial or federal programs are available to cover the emergency costs for rebuilding and repairing homes on Metis settlements.

Related Stories:

• Wildfire scarred Alberta Métis settlement pushes for second escape route

• Canadian wildfires hit Indigenous communities hard, threatening their land and culture

• ‘It’s home’: Alberta’s Metis community rebuilds settlement after wildfire

According to officials in the area, the settlement lost about 40 homes, 14 of which were inhabited at the time of the wildfire.

They also said the damages in the entire community are estimated at $11.5 million.

The Alberta government approved a $175-million recovery program for municipalities and Metis settlements earlier this month for a variety of other costs.

Meanwhile, the wildfires in the province were happening after the Alberta government cut a program of elite firefighters trained to rappel from helicopters to work on wildfires while they still only covered a few hectares in 2019.

That program once had 63 rapattack firefighters stationed around the province, and cutting it was expected to save the government $1.4 million.

Wildfires burned more than 14,000 square kilometres in June and July, affecting about 38,000 Albertans.