Chatham-Kent will be asking the province to make up a significant financial shortfall due to costs incurred through the Wheatley gas explosion.
Chatham-Kent is looking at a shortfall of almost $5.3 million in their 2022 budget due to things such as site cleanup, air monitoring and security.
Council approved a motion at their council meeting held online on Monday night to formally ask the province to take financial responsibility for the Wheatley explosion.
Chatham-Kent Chief administrative officer (CAO) Michael Duben said administration has been in regular contact with the province about the money. He added that the province is expecting a formal request for the money from council.
“There will be a political ask for those dollars as opposed to staff to staff,” Duben said.
Councillors were clear that they did not want to dip into bridge reserves to make up the shortfall if upper levels of funding are not available.
On August 26, 2021 Chatham-Kent emergency services were on scene in downtown Wheatley after gas monitoring devices placed at the site indicated the presence of gas. First responders had evacuated the buildings closest to the alarm and were in the process of evacuating a wider area when an explosion occurred. Twenty people received minor injuries