Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has announced the preliminary details of a compensation plan for residents whose food was spoiled during the power outages caused by last weekend’s ice storm.
Wynne told reporters Sunday morning that Loblaw would be donating $25,000 in gift cards for affected residents to put toward replacing the food they had to throw out.
She said the provincial government is working on matching that amount, particularly for Ontarians who can't afford replacing the spoiled food. She also called on other grocery chains to step up.
Individuals who would like to donate to the effort can make a monetary donation to the Daily Bread Food Bank, she said. More details of the plan will be released in the coming days.
Residents of Toronto Community Housing told CTV Toronto that they've had to throw away thousands of dollars in food following the storm.
"Everything got spoiled, we throw everything in the garbage… chicken, beef," Gladys Ekeocha said Saturday, estimating that she tossed out $1,000 worth of groceries.
Wynne unveiled the preliminary details as Toronto Hydro announced that they were in the final stretch of the power restoration, with approximately 7,400 customers in the city still without electricity.
"We can see the finish line ahead of us," Toronto Hydro CEO Anthony Haines said, noting that hydro crews would be working around the clock to finish the job. "We're getting that last group of customers back on."
Hydro One CEO Carmine Marcello said that power restoration outside of Toronto was pretty much complete, but warned that new outages may occur due to inclement weather conditions.
He said there will still be a fair amount of work to come, mostly involving tree trimming and removal.
