Chatham-Kent receives $11M more in Ontario funding for Wheatley explosion aftermath

Chatham-Kent will receive over $11 million more in provincial funding to help the community of Wheatley, Ont., in the aftermath of the explosion that rocked the town nearly two years ago. 

Of the funding, $8 million will go to the municipality for emergency management costs related to the explosion — including gas monitoring, security and ongoing investigations.

Another $3 million will be used for ongoing risk management and investigation costs to add more safety features to the explosion site. 

"There is still a lot of work to be done right here in Wheatley," said Graydon Smith, the province's minister of natural resources.

"But we're at a point where we're looking to the future."

The province will also provide $225,000 to the town's recovery task force, and is extending business recovery and resident assistance programs. 

The explosion occurred Aug. 26, 2021, when gas surfaced through an old water well in the region. Three wells were later plugged in the aftermath of the explosion. 

To date, Ontario has given more than $27 million in support for the community, Smith said in the announcement in the town Wednesday. 

"The community of Wheatley continues to show amazing tenacity and patience as we navigate the path to regrowth together,"  Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff said in a statement.

"This funding will ensure the future of Wheatley is both brighter and safer."

Twenty people were injured in the explosion, while at least two buildings were destroyed and several others severely damaged.

As many as 100 households and dozens of businesses were displaced. 

On Saturday, the community will mark the two-year anniversary of the explosion. 

New funding prompts questions

Some business owners are unsure of how the announcement will help them, and want to see more done to bring the downtown back to normal.

"I don't know if we will receive any additional funding. It sounds like the municipality received money. I guess we'll wait and see how it's distributed," said Tracey Declerck, who owns Briar Patch Studio. The business was closed for more than a year following the explosion.

Wheatley resident Geri Vary, one of the residents who were displaced by the blast for about a year, also is looking for more details.

"I think we needed a little more specifics, but it sounds like the money is going to be able to purchase some properties
and if that happens, they get the properties purchased, maybe they get the buildings torn down, maybe things will move a little faster. But that's what we need. This place looks like a war zone."

Help with that may come from the recovery task force.

"I know they have had some meetings and they've got some ideas about what they'd like to see for the downtown," said Chatham-Kent CAO Mike Duben.

But Coun. Aaron Hall, who was acting as mayor in the place of Canniff on Wednesday, said that next steps will be communicated with Wheatley residents.

"We've got a professional team that will be able to take this new funding and this new information and continue on with that work and make the best steps possible for the community," he said.

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