KAPUSKASING - A northern municipality is considering legal action to access the $7.1 million owed by the federal government for hosting evacuations.
The cash is for the 2023 expenses that Kapuskasing says it paid out being a host community for First Nation evacuations. Through an agreement with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), host municipalities are supposed to be repaid within 90 days, according to the town.
On Feb. 22, Kapuskasing council agreed to look into legal action to make sure it's reimbursed for the expenses and interest on overdue payments. The municipality will also not be a host community until it is reimbursed for 2023 and there are changes to the reimbursement process.
When First Nation communities are forced to evacuate for emergencies such as flooding or forest fires, people are relocated to host municipalities. Kapuskasing has been hosting evacuees for 18 years, said CAO Guylain Baril.
Kapuskasing says it is currently owed $7,134,408 from ISC.
"The community of Kapuskasing needs these funds for the normal operation of the town as well as for upcoming capital projects," Baril told TimminsToday.
Nothing has been filed with the courts yet, and Baril isn't certain when that will happen.
The Feb. 22 report notes that the 2022 evacuations were reimbursed 224 days after submitting the first claim.
It took 265 days to be reimbursed for its second claim, and the town says that there is still $1,014 outstanding on that receipt. The town report notes that the ISC has not acknowledged an email asking for the reasoning.
Kapuskasing submitted last year's evacuation claims on Oct. 13, 2023, which means they should have been paid by the end of January 2024.
“During a meeting with ISC in Toronto, town representatives were reassured that payments were forthcoming, but a month later, we are still owed most of the amount,” reads the town report.
The town says it's been forced to use money from its line of credit, which includes interest charges from the banks “to sustain regular operations and construction projects.”
They said ISC refused to pay interest on the outstanding amounts.
“Despite several email exchanges, virtual meetings and even face-to-face meetings, we have failed to resolve this issue amicably with our federal partner. With the approaching evacuation season, there are growing concerns with the town’s ability to host in 2024 due to a lack of funds to sustain what should be short term expenses of the program,” staff wrote in the report.
“The town takes pride in paying its suppliers of goods and services that are involved in the evacuation program when the Town is the lead host. The town will not risk not having the funds in place to pay those suppliers in the future.”