Yesterday, Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, issued the following statement:

“The Premier recommended the appointment of Bob Chiarelli as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. In light of this announcement, I’d like to assure the people of Wawa, the Michipicoten First Nation, and the surrounding area that the Ontario government will continue to work with them to help them recover from last week’s devastating flood.

I spoke to Wawa Mayor Lynda Nowicki to assure her that today’s announcement will not delay the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP) process.

My office has been in regular contact with Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Michael Mantha throughout the process and welcomed his positive feedback on the work that is underway in the community. We will continue to keep him updated about our progress.

Wawa passed a resolution Tuesday requesting that the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing declare the municipality a disaster area for the purposes of receiving ODRAP funding.

As soon as the town submits its initial estimate of damages, Ministry staff will work quickly to process the ODRAP application. I will work with Minister Chiarelli to ensure that this application moves as quickly as possible. We know how important this is to the people of Wawa.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the residents affected by the flood as they go through this difficult time.”