Home Programs Emergency management Recovery DFAA Manual to assist in the interpretation of federal guidelines EPC 22/88 Basis of the Arrangements

Basis of the Arrangements

1. Through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA), the federal government provides basic financial assistance to help provincial governments meet the costs of disasters which exceed what they might reasonably be expected to bear on their own. Funds are not budgeted for the arrangements because there is no way to predict the amount that might be needed in a given year. Funds are obtained, as needed, by means of a submission to the Treasury Board.
2. A definition of what constitutes financial hardship to a province is implied in the formula for determining federal financial assistance:

The phrase eligible costs, which occurs throughout this manual, refers to provincial government expenditures which meet the criteria for eligibility set out in the federal guidelines. These guidelines are general in nature and each disaster raises questions relating to their interpretation. This manual is intended to aid in making such interpretations.

Since floods are a frequent cause of property damage in Canada, the Federal Flood Damage Reduction Program is worth noting. This is a federal/provincial program to carry out flood-plain mapping and delineation of high flood risk areas with a view to minimizing damage to property in those areas. Once such areas are designated, no assistance will be provided under the Disaster Financial Assistance arrangements to meet the cost of repairing or replacing structures subsequently built or installed in the designated areas and damaged by flood.