logo
Alberta accepting invoices from Valemount for Jasper evacuee costs

Alberta accepting invoices from Valemount for Jasper evacuee costs

CTV News02-06-2025

Vehicles leave the Jasper area in July 2024 hours before wildfire breached the town. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)
Valemount business owners that hosted Jasper evacuees last summer are now eligible for reimbursement from the Government of Alberta, says consulting firm Strategies North.
Businesses, non-profits and other organizations who hosted evacuees can submit reimbursement requests for goods and services they provided to evacuees for free or at a significant discount, according to the firm.
These goods and services can include accommodation, food and water, consumable items, or other costs related to hosting evacuees beyond the typical operating expenses of the business.
Those requesting reimbursement should send an invoice to valemountrecovery@strategiesnorth.ca before June 4th.
Invoices should have the Village of Valemount listed as the recipient, and should specify that the invoice is for the costs of hosting the 2024 Jasper evacuees.
The firm suggests including supporting documentation such as receipts, room lists, lists of evacuees or other documents alongside the invoice.
The Municipality of Jasper will include invoices from the Village of Valemount in its reimbursement requests to the Alberta Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services.
Once the province reimburses Jasper, the municipality will pass on the approved reimbursement requests to Valemount, and the Village will distribute reimbursed funds.
By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Rocky Mountain Goat

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Are you eligible for the new Canada Disability Benefit?
Are you eligible for the new Canada Disability Benefit?

CTV News

time22 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Are you eligible for the new Canada Disability Benefit?

Bank of Canada notes are displayed at the Bank of Canada museum in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick) Eligible Canadians can begin applying for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) as of June 20. The new benefit, part of the federal government's Disability Inclusion Action Plan, aims to provide financial support to Canadians living with disabilities. Who is eligible? The benefit is available to persons with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64 who meet several requirements. Some of these requirements include qualifying for the disability tax credit (DTC), filing a 2024 income tax return with the Canada Revenue Agency, or having a spouse or common-law partner who has also filed their 2024 income tax return, if applicable. The federal government will also send letters in June to eligible Canadians to apply. The letters will include a unique application code and instructions on how to apply. According to the program's website, Canadians who do not receive a letter but believe they are eligible can still apply. To do so, they must provide a mailing address and their net income (line 23600) from their 2024 notice of assessment. How to apply Eligible Canadians can apply starting June 20 online, by phone or in person at a Service Canada office. Applicants will need a social insurance number (SIN) and direct deposit information. According to the program's website, Service Canada uses direct deposit because it is more efficient and reliable. A number of community-based organizations across Canada will also provide support throughout the CDB application process, including assistance with applying for the DTC. Canadians whose applications are received and approved by June 30 can expect first payment in July. How much is the benefit? The benefit is calculated based on various factors, including adjusted family net income. The maximum amount is $2,400 annually ($200 per month), from July 2025 to June 2026. The benefit will be adjusted for inflation each year to reflect changes in the cost of living, but the benefit will not decrease if the cost of living goes down. Eligible Canadians may also receive retroactive payments for up to 24 months prior to the date their application is received—but not for any months before July 2025.

Buy Canadian movement sours sales at one Edmonton candy store
Buy Canadian movement sours sales at one Edmonton candy store

Globe and Mail

time33 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Buy Canadian movement sours sales at one Edmonton candy store

The business model for Laurie Radostits's Edmonton candy store made sense when it opened a little more than a decade ago: bring the city products that were rarely seen in Canada. It is also part of the reason that, in March, she nearly had to close down. Sweet Convenience's shelves are a colourful garden of treats, cereals and sodas: PayDay candy bars, chocolate chip pancake Pop-Tarts, vanilla Coke. The common denominator? They're American. Before President Donald Trump initiated a trade war with Canada, Sweet Convenience fed a craving for American products that were difficult to find elsewhere. Since Mr. Trump introduced the tariffs that have targeted Canadian products, those cravings have been overtaken by a patriotic desire to spend money on more Canadian-produced goods. But Ms. Radostits soon learned that, to some, 'Buy Canadian' did not necessarily mean support Canadian businesses, particularly if their products didn't bear a Canadian flag. When the one-two punch of tariffs and 'Buy Canadian' landed against Sweet Convenience in February and March, Ms. Radostits said she felt 'lots of panic.' She had only felt that worried during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, when she faced problems sourcing cross-border products. 'We've been through COVID. Okay. Can we get through Trump?' In the past, customers had requested Ms. Radostits special order their favourite American treats. But in late February and March, some were asking her to remove U.S. products from her store shelves. If she did cut her American products, she estimated 90 per cent of her stock would be eliminated. Trying to get a step ahead of tariffs, Ms. Radostits stockpiled inventory to maintain pretariff prices for as long as possible. In hindsight, it was a bad business move. She was met with an unexpected 'Buy Canadian' boom. Her sales dwindled and she could not pay the rent, although she was able to make a deal with the landlord to keep the store open. The small Canadian business was, ironically, suffering from an unofficial campaign to support Canadian businesses. 'Support Canadian and Buy Canadian are very different,' she argues. At her most dire moment, Ms. Radostits made an online plea for customers to buy from the shop in April, suggesting the store would otherwise have to close. The candy shop's fan base and former patrons returned and carried the business through Easter. While that wave has since ebbed, it hasn't disappeared. She's not as worried about having to close, but the fear remains. Sweet Convenience is enduring a 'double squeeze,' said Melise Panetta, a marketing lecturer at the Lazaridis School of Business at Wilfrid Laurier University who has also held senior positions at large consumer companies like PepsiCo. and S.C. Johnson. The candy store is dealing with the rising cost of operations and goods that other retailers are facing, but is also losing out to the Buy Canadian consumer sentiment that other Canadian retailers are seeing as a benefit. 'Even if it's a local business owned by local individuals – and even if it's cherished – they could still be at risk of having the negative perception of the products that they carry over to their overall retail image,' Ms. Panetta said. There are other stores dotted across Canada that, like Sweet Convenience, carry American treats. At Snack Passport, in Barrie, Ont., owner Jenna MacIsaac said U.S. products made up about 80 per cent of the store's revenue. That has since dropped to less than 20 per cent, she said. Ms. MacIsaac said the store rarely brings in American products now. An analysis from the Angus Reid Institute in February found 48 per cent of Canadians had already replaced, or planned to replace, U.S. products with Canadian alternatives. Sweet Convenience's unique situation is also a test of consumers' tolerance for American products though, Ms. Panetta warned, that shunning a domestic retailer has negative effects on the Canadian economy. 'That's still people that are working in our local economy. They are contributing to the local economy, and they're Canadians.' Ms. Radostits defends stocking American products by saying her profits stay in Canada because most of her orders come through Canadian third-party importers. The prices for some of her products have risen, but she has also tried a new strategy to make the price changes seem more subtle. Instead of raising prices on familiar items, where customers may visibly notice a price spike, she has chosen to order products she hasn't stocked before. That way, customers won't feel inclined to compare prices even if the new items are also subject to tariffs. It's a more subtle sticker shock. Ms. Radostits has also started labelling U.S.-licensed items to show if they had been made elsewhere, like Mexico or the Netherlands. She is also considering ordering a wider variety of foreign items, including from places in Europe. 'I don't want to go that route, so I'm kind of hoping something will change soon,' Ms. Radostits said. European products are a niche, she said, that has already been taken. Ms. Panetta, however, said choosing other countries might be the safer option and recommends the store could also start marking tariffed items with a 'T' like grocery retailer Loblaws has done.

Eastern Canadian premiers, U.S. governors to meet in Boston Monday
Eastern Canadian premiers, U.S. governors to meet in Boston Monday

CTV News

time39 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Eastern Canadian premiers, U.S. governors to meet in Boston Monday

The flags of Canada and the United States fly outside a hotel in downtown Ottawa, on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Eastern Canadian premiers and U.S. state governors will gather in Boston Monday to discuss trade and tariffs. The meeting, announced last month, is expected to focus on energy, manufacturing, and tourism in face of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Attending the meeting from Canada will be Newfoundland and Labrador Premier John Hogan, Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, Quebec economic minister Christine Fréchette, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. The premiers were invited to the meeting by Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Canada is the largest single trading partner for Massachusetts and Maine. Mills said Trump's tariffs have damaged her state's economy and relationship with Canada. 'I understand, their feelings are hurt,' said Mills about Canadians, in an interview with CTV News Atlantic's Todd Battis Friday. 'My feelings are hurt too. The people who have a deep seeded relationship with Canada are all hurt by this. We share that feeling.' Mills and Holt have held multiple discussions about trade over the past several months. Holt, along with Lantz, travelled to Boston in March to meet with Healey. Holt said she planned to focus on energy development at Monday's meeting. 'New Brunswick supplies a lot of energy products to New England,' Holt said to reporters Thursday. 'I think 90 per cent of the cars in Boston are driving with gas that comes from the Irving refinery and us. They are keen to make sure we will continue to be a reliable supplier of energy to them.' With files from CTV's Todd Battis and Avery MacRae For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store