Wildfire relief funding for N.W.T. businesses increasing

The Northwest Territories governmentis increasingwildfire relief funding for businesses in the territory affected by wildfire.

The new funding amounts wereannounced Thursday in the N.W.T. legislature by Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek. The funding will be available through the SEED program from the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Investment, and will be funded partially through a $1-millioncontribution from CanNor.

Wawzonek said funding for Yellowknife businesses has been increased to $10,000, double the previously-announced amount.

Meanwhile, Fort Smith businesses will now be eligible for up to $15,000 in funding, while businesses in Hay River andKt'odeeche First Nation can now receive up to $20,000.

Businesses in communitiesnot evacuated will also be eligible for up to $3,000 to cover costsincurred because of evacuations.

In the legislature,Wawzonek said the new funding amounts are "reflective of the lengths of times that each were under evacuation orders over this summer."

The funding can be used for expenses like rent and utilities during the evacuations. However, it can't be used to cover employee salaries or lost revenue.

"Further, the period of eligible expenses will extend two weeks past the end of an evacuation order,"Wawzonek said.

A formal announcement including details will be released "as soon as possible," she said, and "the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment will work directly with businesses who may want or need to see a revision of any previous applications or amounts received."

Speaking after Wawzonek's announcement on Thursday, Hay River South MLA Rocky Simpson told the legislature the funding won't "fix everything."

"You're looking at, you know, upwards of probably a loss of, you know, $100,000for some businesses," Simpson said. "It's going to vary. But it is a big chunk of change."

"So when we are talking the amounts that she noted, it's not a lot," he said. "It's something, though. And I'm hoping and, you know, I encourage the minister as well, to go out there to the federal government and continue, you know, pounding the table."

Also on Thursday, Wawzonek announced $200,000 insupport for food banks and food security organizations in communities affected by the evacuations.

"We understand the impacts the wildfires and subsequent evacuations have had on residents and on communities who were hosting residents, many of which were already food insecure," she said.

No further details regarding that funding have yet been provided.