Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce today that another $5 million will be added to the disaster relief fund administered by my department, thus raising it to $50 million.
The additional $5 million will allow still greater flexibility to employers, so that they may hire people who are not eligible for employment insurance or youth employment programs, but could help in the reconstruction.
To date, the Government of Canada has already paid ice storm victims a total of $270 million, with more to come.