(Saint-Jean) The Ministry of Public Security acknowledges that it has still not given the money promised to the Red Cross to help the victims of Quebec and the Atlantic provinces who were affected by post-tropical storm Fiona.
Discussions are still ongoing with the Red Cross to determine which donations are eligible for the federal government pledge.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on September 24 that the federal government would match all donations made to the Red Cross from September 24 to October 31.
Storm Fiona swept across the east of the country, knocking out power to more than 500,000 customers in the Maritimes. The damage was assessed at several million dollars. In southwestern Newfoundland, residences were thrown into the ocean.
As of November 17, the Red Cross said it had used about 27.3 million of the 31 million received in donations from the population.
A Red Cross spokesman, Dan Bedell, could not say Wednesday how the rest of the money was spent. He added that discussions were ongoing with provincial governments about this.