Quebec Will Reimburse Some People For Food Spoiled By That Massive Power Outage
Households benefiting from social assistance programs are eligible. Here's the form they need.
Hydro-Québec logo on its downtown Montreal headquarters.
At the time of writing, there are still a handful of Hydro-Québec customers with no power, eight days after violent storms ripped through regions north of Montreal. Now, the government is offering money to households that benefit from social assistance programs to help offset the cost of food that was spoiled as a result.
Qualifying families could get $75 per person for a maximum of $300 per household.
They must have been without power for a period longer than 24 hours.
Eligible individuals have to fill out this form and either send it to Services Québec or bring it to the location nearest them. They can also upload it to their Mon dossier – Aide à l’emploi – Assistance social account. They have until June 30 to submit an application.
"Following the violent storms that occurred on May 21, it is essential to support the most vulnerable people in our society," provincial Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity Jean Boulet said in a press release.
"Your government is taking action to directly help families and people receiving social assistance programs affected by the prolonged power outages that occurred in some areas."
In a May 30 update, Hydro-Québec said it had restored power to 99% of customers affected by the storm. Only around 800 had not had power since May 21 or 22 — though the company said a second series of storms in the Laurentides has brought even more outages to the region since then.
Though 2,000 Hydro-Québec employees are in the field fixing power lines, the Crown corporation conceded it's "not possible for us to give a time frame for each location."