Province plans for temporary housing to speed return to Fort McMurray

Evacuees may be put up in temporary housing in Fort McMurray if their homes aren't ready by the time they are allowed to return to the city.

Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee made the announcement at a presentation to Wood Buffalo council's first meeting since the fire. The meeting was held in Edmonton's city hall.

Councillors were looking for answers about when residents will be allowed to return to the fire-stricken area, and how much authority the municipality will have over the process.

Larivee, who was evacuated from Slave Lake when fire struck that town in 2011, said there are still no timelines for return.

"The only thing worse than not knowing is having a date that's not solid, and then it not coming true," she said.

Wood Buffalo Coun. Colleen Tatum's mother was evacuated during the floods in High River in 2013. She said one of the most difficult parts was that she wasn't even able to see her home or return to High River for months because of the staged re-entry.

Shane Schreiber, with Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said the plan is to get evacuees home to Fort McMurray as quickly as possible, even if they can't return to their homes.

"Maybe not the homes that they had if it's been destroyed, but certainly a home that they can live in," Schreiber explained.

The details of those plans have still not been decided.

"I think it's important that we're a part of that decision, because we're going to stay, live, and work in our community," said coun. Keith McGrath. 

The state of emergency will officially end May 31, 28 days after it was declared. After that, the municipality will be responsible for rebuilding the city. Schreiber said he doesn't expect that deadline to be extended.

Councillors also wanted to make sure local companies and workers reaped the financial benefits of the cleanup and rebuilding efforts in the meantime.   

"We will fix our town," said Coun. Allan Vinni.

Coun. Sheldon Germain asked the province to think outside the box while the disaster is still ongoing to put people and businesses in Fort McMurray back to work.

"It hurts me to see equipment coming up Highway 63 when we have yards of equipment," Germain said.

But Mayor Melissa Blake believes council should trust the province.

"I imagine that it's a bigger process than any of us at a municipal level have ever had to undertake," Blake said. 

But, Wood Buffalo council has also started working on their own plans for recovery, including a review of all the infrastructure projects they had committed to. 

Those commitments will likely have to change depending on the damage done by the fire.

"These are decisions we're going to have to start looking at sooner rather than later," Blake said.

Council will meet every week to finalize their plans in time for residents to return home, whenever that may be.

 The next council meeting will be on May 18th.