The bureaucracy that stands between a family and disaster support
The celebration of life for Barbara and David Enns was held at the Village Hall on March 8, but their story is far from over.
A state of local emergency still exists in Lions Bay, and, according to Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell, who is also acting as the Director of Emergency Operations, "is expected to continue for several months." He added that the status will be removed where there is no further work or activity in the affected area of the deadly landslide that took the lives of the Enns last December 14.
Many questions remain unanswered. What caused the slide that followed the path of Battani Creek from Crown lands up the mountain and destroyed the Enns' family home? What level of responsibility for reparations to the family falls to the provincial government? What is the status of the RCMP investigation into the deaths of the Enns?
In February, Sea to Sky MLA Jeremy Valeriote stood in the provincial legislature and asked if the province would step up to help support the devastated Enns family, who have been left with nothing in the wake of the disaster.
Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Kelly Greene replied that "disaster financial assistance is available for eligible, sudden, unexpected and widespread events."
Valeriote stated that the magnitude of a disaster shouldn't matter, noting that cynicism is fed when the government "isn't there for people when it should be."
The guidelines for the distribution of provincial disaster assistance can be found HERE. Following Valeriote's comments, The Watershed contacted his office for clarification of the Minister's use of the term 'widespread.'
Jatinder Sidhu, Constituency Lead for Valeriote's Green Party office, said that he, too, was puzzled. "How do you define the term widespread? This landslide destroyed a family home, and damaged other houses,displacing other families for weeks. It diverted a creek, shut down a major highway in the province and left damage that is still under repair."
Sidhu said that Valeriote was keen to get movement from the provincial government for disaster assistance in this case, but that his efforts went nowhere. He acknowledged that little can be done until the results of the RCMP investigation can be made public.
He said that Valeriote and his team had held a meeting with Lions Bay Mayor Ken Berry and members of council a few weeks back to discuss concerns around Village creeks, and the lack of funding for municipalities to address large geohazards.
"It's a problem in British Columbia when small municipalities like Lions Bay don't have the resources to fund large mitigation projects," Sidhu said.
Council has already approved a resolution to ask the Lower Mainland Local Government Association to authorize regional districts to provide emergency planning and response services to municipalities such as Lions Bay to help in ensuring a centralized and coordinated approach to emergency management.
Referencing this Vancouver Sun article, Sidhu said: "20 years ago a coroner described a deadly North Vancouver landslide as 'predictable and preventable', and recommended a comprehensive landslide hazard management strategy focused on prevention and risk mitigation. We’re still waiting for it."
Sidhu said that it was his understanding that the province did step in to fund the clean-up of the crushed remains of the Enns family home, but he has had no reassurances that any further disaster relief will be directed to the family.
The RCMP has released no further information to date, noting only that the investigation is continuing.
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