Hamilton councillor wants province to pay up

A Hamilton city councillor plans to introduce a motion to ask the Ontario government to help pay for the ice storm cleanup.

Sam Merulla intends to put the motion forward in the second week of January. In it, he says the city, property owners, residents and businesses incurred significant costs from the storm, and that it could send the city into deficit for the 2013 year.

The motion goes on to state that because of this, city staff should ask the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to assess whether the city would be eligible for funding under the Ontario Disaster and Relief Assistance program.

If there is a potential for financial assistance found, a formal application would be made.