Meanwhile, the premier of the province of Alberta and the head of the Canadian Red Cross announced that residents of Fort McMurray, the oil-boom town that was evacuated last week because of the fire, would be offered direct financial aid.
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Evacuees will need a piece of government-issued photo ID and their registration number from the Red Cross to receive their cards. Notley advised that everyone who should get help would get help.
“It’s just not an Alberta dynamic…all Canadians need to step up and help get this engine running on all cylinders again, putting people, companies and their welfare front and centre”, said Whitelaw.
“There will be long lineups, especially through the early days of distribution”.
Between May 12 and 19, the locations in Edmonton and Calgary will be open from 8 a.m.to 8 p.m., on May 20 the province said those centres will be open from 8 a.m.to 12 p.m., in Lac la Biche, the centre will be open from 8 a.m.to 8 p.m. on May 12 and 13. These funds will be available for some time, and no eligible evacuee will miss out.. So, again, if you don’t have immediate need for assistance, don’t line up today.
As well, the students were thrilled to learn that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged that the federal government will match donations.
“Across the country, Canadians have responded with a tremendous outpouring of support”, said Conrad Sauve, the president and CEO of the Canadian Red Cross. It’s scary – something you wish nobody would have to deal with. “This (funding) represents our collective commitment to help them through this crisis so their lives can return to normal as soon as possible”.
As a result, many are looking to give back to the city that gave them so much.
Sauve said the organization is providing emergency financial support to evacuees as well. That will be distributed as electronic funds transfers of $600 for each adult and $300 for each child, he said. The transfer will be made within 24 to 48 hours of the announcement on Wednesday.
Around 50 Red Cross workers will be heading up to Canada over the next few days.
Kiefer said once first responders are done their work, the company will be making the most of 4,000 beds it already has available in the Fort McMurray area.
“One of the most important things I’ve seen when we were on site at Northlands with our temporary housing, is a lady who came in with four chinchillas”, Laughren said. “We’ve obviously seen first-hand the relief that washes over the faces of the evacuees as they know that this is one less burden that they have to carry- their animals are in fact being taken care of”.
“At this point they’ve raised a lot of money”.
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Provincial officials said about 750 animals had been checked through by volunteers with the Edmonton Humane Society and Alberta Spay Neuter Task Force – and the Alberta SPCA was working to contact owners to reunite them with their pets.
