Mr. Speaker, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada has not committed any money to date under the disaster financial assistance arrangements, DFAA, to British Columbia for the recent wind storms because, as of yet, the province has not requested federal financial assistance for these events. Under the terms and conditions of the DFAA, the affected province or territory must request federal assistance and, based on the request, an order in council must be approved declaring the event to be of concern to the federal government and authorizing federal financial assistance under the DFAA, before any DFAA payments can be made.
If federal financial assistance under the DFAA is approved for the wind storms that have affected British Columbia, the cost sharing of eligible provincial expenditures will be made according to the established DFAA formula.