Disaster Response: Liability Coverage Changes - Question Period

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. I don't need to remind the members of this House about last year's collapsed-crane debacle on South Park Street in the wake of Hurricane Dorian and the chaos and resulting hardship that this caused, particularly for small businesses and residents in the corridor.

Recently, the same developer whose costs were covered by this government erected a second crane at the site in order to finish the interrupted work. It's unclear that anything much has changed in the meantime, including whether the developer and the crane operator will be required to carry more appropriate levels of insurance.

Mr. Speaker, has the government changed anything around disaster response, liability, or transparency as a result of this disaster?

THE PREMIER « » : The honourable member raises a very important question. As she would remember, when that happened, there were a number of issues about who owned the crane and the crane responsibility. They were on there as a subcontractor. We then moved in to ensure that we provide public safety. That's what this is about. It took much longer, I think, than any of us would have liked, but it was about ensuring the safety of the people in that surrounding community and also those who were going to have to be on that site to remove that crane, the first-of-a-kind collapse that we had in this kind of a centre. They moved in and did that. Now the department will move through to ensure that we recoup the cost for the people of Nova Scotia.

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Maybe the Minister of Business will be able to respond to whether anything has changed. My follow-up is for the Minister of Business.

Many small businesses that were impacted by this issue were cautiously optimistic at the announcement of federal disaster relief flowing through the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing last year. However, upon closer inspection, most of the businesses didn't even bother to apply. The money covers only damage to property, which in many cases is already covered by their insurance and which is not the true loss suffered by them here.

They made it very clear when they met with the Minister of Business last year that lost revenues were their main concern. One of the businesses posted over $100,000 in lost revenue. This is on South Park Street and Spring Garden Road, in the commercial corridor that tourists frequent every single day in the summertime.

Mr. Speaker, for these businesses this was an empty gesture. Will the minister please explain how government intends to assist these small businesses?

HON. GEOFF MACLELLAN » : Mr. Speaker, she actually brokered a conversation with a number of those small businesses on Spring Garden Road and the area impacted by the crane. It was a very passionate conversation.

Certainly, they were frustrated and it's a significant loss. If you looked across that table at the businesses, the men and women who were there representing their entities, it is certainly varied in terms of what the services and products were. At the end of the day, they were all doing very well, experiencing a good season, a good performance that year, and then they were certainly impacted financially and otherwise by this unfortunate event.

The reality is that there is a financial assistance fund through the federal government that I know the member has spoken about before and the fact that there are insurability questions there - if it is uninsured, can they apply? I think that could still be an option, in consultation with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

I also think that communication was a big piece. In any event, in a disaster such as this, it is incumbent on levels of government to get together and have true discussions with these folks about what could be done.