Alberta Métis settlement to get $9M in recovery funds: minister

Jason Nixon speaks with CTV News Edmonton in Sylvan Lake on Oct. 18, 2022 (Matt Marshall/CTV News Edmonton).

A northern Alberta Métis settlement is to receive a one-time payment of $9 million from the provincial government to help it recover from a May wildfire.

Jason Nixon, minister of seniors, community and social services, says the payment to East Prairie Métis Settlement, about 380 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, would help the community rebuild damaged homes.

He says the money is coming through the Indigenous Housing Capital Program.

Nixon says there are no provincial or federal programs available to cover the emergency costs for rebuilding and repairing homes on Métis settlements.

The Alberta government approved a $175-million recovery program for municipalities and Métis settlements earlier this month for a variety of other costs.

In the last two months, wildfires burned more than 14,000 square kilometres, affecting about 38,000 Albertans.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2023.