Financial assistance expanded for people affected by flooding (flickr.com)

Media Contacts

Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness

Media Relations
250 880-6430

Backgrounders

Facts about Disaster Financial Assistance

Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) applicants should be aware of the following:

  • DFA is intended to compensate for sudden, unexpected and uninsurable losses. This may include building repairs, replacement of essential personal effects, eligible equipment and inventory, and cleanup and debris removal.
  • DFA is unable to compensate for losses for which insurance was reasonably and readily available, and does not include compensation for losses to personal belongings, such as:
    • damage to items located in basements, crawl spaces or similar low-lying storage areas, unless the basement, crawl space or storage area was being used as an essential living area;
    • outbuildings, detached or semi-detached garages or carports, or their contents;
    • recreational structures such as hot tubs, patios, pools, fences or landscaping;
    • personal items, such as jewelry, collectibles, artwork, antiques, silverware, furs, decorative items, money and securities or books and printed matter; and
    • recreational items, such as fishing, hunting or camping equipment, audio-visual, camera or dark-room equipment, skates, skis, bicycles, games, toys, garden tools or lawn furniture.
  • A homeowner or residential tenant must show that the home is their principal residence. Seasonal or recreational properties are not eligible for assistance.
  • A claim may be made in more than one category (e.g., homeowner and farm owner).
  • Some ineligible items include insurance deductibles, non-essential recreational items, land lost due to erosion, as well as landscaping and luxury goods.
  • Small business owners must have at least $10,000 per year in revenue from the business and gross sales of less than $2 million per year.
  • Farm owners must demonstrate that the farm is owned and operated by a person whose full-time employment is a farmer and be the means by which the owner generates the majority of their income.
  • DFA is limited to restoring actual damage caused by a specific disaster that has been declared eligible for compensation.
  • Financial assistance is provided for each accepted claim at 80% of the amount of total eligible damage that exceeds $1,000, to a maximum payment of $400,000.