{"id":34980,"date":"2026-01-24T01:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T21:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/?p=34980"},"modified":"2026-01-23T22:16:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:16:18","slug":"steinbach-denied-disaster-aid-mla-questions-criteria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/steinbach-denied-disaster-aid-mla-questions-criteria\/","title":{"rendered":"Steinbach Denied Disaster Aid Amid Regional Weather Woes, MLA Questions Provincial Criteria"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"background: #f7fafc; padding: 15px;\">\n<p><strong>Quick Read<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Steinbach denied provincial Disaster Financial Assistance for September 2025 flood.<\/li>\n<li>MLA Kelvin Goertzen says decision contradicts province&#8217;s own DFA criteria, calls for clarity.<\/li>\n<li>Unclear definitions for &#8220;widespread,&#8221; &#8220;uninsurable,&#8221; and &#8220;significant financial burden&#8221; cited as key issues.<\/li>\n<li>Extreme cold also led to widespread school closures in other southeastern Manitoba divisions.<\/li>\n<li>Concerns raised about public trust and insurance complications for repeat flood victims.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Steinbach, Manitoba, is grappling with significant frustration following the provincial government&#8217;s decision to deny Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) for a severe heavy rain event that inundated the city last September. The ruling has drawn sharp criticism from local MLA Kelvin Goertzen, who believes the denial contradicts the province&#8217;s own established criteria for emergency support. This development unfolds against a backdrop of ongoing extreme weather challenges across southeastern Manitoba, which recently saw numerous school closures due to bitterly cold temperatures and dangerous windchill values, highlighting the region&#8217;s vulnerability to natural phenomena and the critical need for clear, reliable government responses.<\/p>\n<h2>Steinbach&#8217;s September Ordeal and Unmet Expectations<\/h2>\n<p>Last September, Steinbach experienced an unprecedented rainfall, with approximately 126 millimetres descending in less than 24 hours. This deluge triggered widespread overland flooding, overwhelmed sewer systems, and caused numerous sump pump failures, resulting in extensive damage to homes and businesses throughout the city. The scale of the devastation led city officials and residents alike to anticipate provincial support through the Disaster Financial Assistance program, designed to aid communities facing uninsurable damages and significant financial burdens.<\/p>\n<p>MLA Kelvin Goertzen, while not directly responsible for emergency services or DFA, actively participated in cabinet discussions surrounding the event. He firmly states that the city council&#8217;s and residents&#8217; frustration is entirely justified. Goertzen points to the province&#8217;s own guidelines for establishing DFA programs, which typically require three key criteria to be met:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Damages from the event are widespread and affect a large area or number of residents.<\/li>\n<li>Damages from the event are mostly uninsurable.<\/li>\n<li>Damages from the event represent a significant financial burden.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cAnybody who lives in Steinbach and experienced the last two flooding events would look at those criteria and go, \u2018Well, it&#8217;s a no brainer. Clearly that fits.\u2019 And I think that probably was the city&#8217;s expectation as well,\u201d Goertzen explained, emphasizing the clear alignment between the September flood&#8217;s impact and the stated provincial requirements. He further elaborated, \u201cA localized event like this, which impacts such a significant part of the third largest city, seems to me, on the qualifications that are on the government site and from what I&#8217;ve seen in the past, would rise to that level.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Lack of Clarity Fuels Public Mistrust<\/h2>\n<p>A central point of contention, according to Goertzen, is the provincial government&#8217;s failure to provide clear definitions for what constitutes eligibility under each of the aforementioned criteria. This ambiguity leaves communities like Steinbach in the dark, unable to understand why their applications are rejected when, from a local perspective, the conditions for assistance appear to be unequivocally met.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you get the result and they say no, it&#8217;s not going to qualify, you want to know why,\u201d Goertzen stated, articulating the widespread sentiment in Steinbach. He questioned the perceived high bar for assistance, asking, \u201cDo we need to have a flood of biblical proportions in Steinbach before DFA would kick in? And seemingly, nobody can answer that.\u201d This lack of transparency is particularly galling for residents who were instructed by the city to meticulously keep receipts after the flood, under the assumption that compensation would eventually be available. The subsequent denial, without clear explanation, feels like a betrayal of that implicit promise.<\/p>\n<p>Goertzen stressed the importance of clear communication from officials, particularly in times of crisis. \u201cIf the bar is so high that you&#8217;d have to have a flood of biblical proportions that would drown every house in the city, then you better tell people that upfront, as opposed to making them go through all of that effort. And of course, one would hope that it wouldn&#8217;t take that sort of natural disaster.\u201d He warned that without proper explanations for denied claims, residents are left to draw their own conclusions, which are often negative and erode trust in government institutions. \u201cIf you don&#8217;t tell people why it didn&#8217;t get approved, people are going to come to their own conclusions, and those conclusions aren&#8217;t always good conclusions.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Insurance Complications Add to Resident Burden<\/h2>\n<p>Compounding the frustration is the complex interplay between provincial aid criteria and private insurance coverage, particularly concerning the &#8216;uninsurable&#8217; and &#8216;financial burden&#8217; requirements. This issue is particularly acute for residents who have been affected by flooding in consecutive years, specifically in both 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Goertzen highlighted the difficulties faced by these residents: \u201cI&#8217;m not an insurance expert, but my understanding from talking to people is that it might disqualify you for the second time if you&#8217;ve had a previous claim.\u201d He noted that while some residents experienced flooding for the first time last year and received insurance payouts, others found themselves unable to secure insurance coverage at all due to having made claims in two consecutive years. This creates a vicious cycle where repeat victims are left with fewer avenues for financial recovery, exacerbating both their financial and psychological distress.<\/p>\n<p>The situation underscores a critical gap in support mechanisms, where existing policies fail to adequately address the realities of recurring natural disasters. For many, the financial strain of repairs, coupled with the emotional toll of repeated displacement and uncertainty, represents a profound crisis that they believe the government should be equipped to alleviate.<\/p>\n<h2>Southeastern Manitoba Grapples with Extreme Weather Beyond Flooding<\/h2>\n<p>While Steinbach navigates the aftermath of its September flood and the denial of aid, the broader southeastern Manitoba region has been contending with additional severe weather events. This Friday, bitterly cold temperatures and dangerous windchill values prompted Environment Canada to issue Cold Warnings across essentially the entire province, leading to widespread disruptions. Many schools in southeastern Manitoba were forced to close or cancel bus services for the second consecutive day, prioritizing the safety of students and staff.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, both the Seine River School Division and Red River Valley School Division cancelled all classes and closed schools for the day. In the Border Land School Division, Ross L Gray School in Sprague and Pineland Colony School were also closed due to extreme wind chill. Furthermore, while all schools in the Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine (DSFM) remained open, transportation services were cancelled for several of their schools, including \u00c9cole Saint-Joachim in La Broquerie, \u00c9cole Pointe-des-Ch\u00eanes in Ste. Anne, \u00c9cole Sainte-Agathe, \u00c9cole Saint-Jean-Baptiste, \u00c9cole R\u00e9al-B\u00e9rard in St. Pierre, Lagimodi\u00e8re in Lorette, and Gabrielle-Roy in Ile des Chenes. These closures underscore the persistent and varied challenges posed by Manitoba&#8217;s harsh climate, demanding agile and responsive strategies from local authorities and educational institutions to ensure public safety.<\/p>\n<h2>Government&#8217;s Role in Times of Crisis<\/h2>\n<p>Goertzen emphasized that residents typically first rely on community networks and neighbors during crises, turning to government only when the scale of the disaster is overwhelming. \u201cSometimes there are things that are just so significant, so overwhelming, and so unplanned for. Things that you can&#8217;t necessarily always insure against. That is what the government is there for. That is why you pay your taxes. And that is what you expect when you have something called a DFA,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n<p>The current situation in Steinbach, with its unresolved questions and perceived lack of support, threatens to undermine this fundamental trust. Goertzen reiterated that council and residents deserve a clearer explanation for the DFA denial, warning that the prevailing uncertainty could cause lasting damage to the relationship between the public and its government. \u201cFrom what I&#8217;ve heard from some of the people I&#8217;ve talked to, they&#8217;re going like, \u2018Okay, in my time of need and time of one of my greatest needs, the government is not there, so would they ever be there,\u2019\u201d he quoted, highlighting the profound psychological impact of feeling abandoned. He concluded that there needs to be unequivocal clarity from the NDP government regarding the DFA criteria, ensuring that decisions are not perceived as arbitrary but rather as consistent and fair applications of established policy.<\/p>\n<p><em>The ongoing challenges in Steinbach, from the denial of disaster aid for a significant flood to the broader regional disruptions caused by extreme cold, highlight a critical need for transparent and consistently applied government policies. The erosion of public trust, stemming from unclear criteria and perceived arbitrary decisions, risks undermining the social contract in times of profound community distress.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steinbach faces mounting frustration after being denied provincial Disaster Financial Assistance for a devastating September 2025 flood, prompting MLA Kelvin Goertzen to question the clarity and consistency of Manitoba&#8217;s aid criteria. The decision comes as southeastern Manitoba grapples with ongoing extreme weather challenges, including widespread school closures due to severe cold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":-1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow5Nm1DA:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[43356,9311,15247,1568,43357,13366,29689,43355],"class_list":["post-34980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-regions","tag-disaster-financial-assistance","tag-extreme-weather","tag-flooding","tag-government-policy","tag-kelvin-goertzen","tag-manitoba","tag-school-closures","tag-steinbach"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/steinbach-flood-damage.jpg","_embedded":{"wp:featuredmedia":[{"id":-1,"source_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/steinbach-flood-damage.jpg","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34980\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}