UPDATE on BC Wildfire Situation
Fort St. John, BC – Bob Zimmer, Member of Parliament for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, participated in a meeting this morning with all levels of government as well as others in a position to offer information and would like to make the following update available.
There will be a volunteer centre opening tomorrow morning at 8:00am for the purpose of training, scheduling, and deploying volunteers. Anyone interested should present themselves to the reception area located in Room 205 of the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre. Those wishing to register online can visit the new Volunteer Prince George website here http://www.volunteerpg.com/
The City of Prince George has also launched a specific webpage dedicated to providing information that evacuees will need, the webpage can be accessed here https://princegeorge.ca/NewInitiativesAndSpecialProjects/Pages/CaribooEvacuation.aspx
As evacuees are checked in they are provided with funds from the Red Cross and grocery vouchers as needed, so far the City has distributed over $222,000 worth of vouchers.
Service Canada will be establishing a Mobile Outreach unit at the College of New Caledonia in order to offer immediate assistance as needed and the important numbers are listed below;
General Inquiries 1-800-O-Canada (1-800-622-6232)
Employment Insurance (EI)
EI Reporting 1-800-531-7555
EI Information 1-800-206-7218
Old Age Security & Canada Pension Plan 1-800-277-9914
1-800-255-4786 (TTY)
Passport Canada 1-800-567-6868
CRA
Tax (Individuals) 1-800-959-8281
Tax (Business) 1-800-959-5525
For updates and evacuation alerts please visit;http://bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca/hprScripts/WildfireNews/OneFire.asp https://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/ orhttp://www.bcwildfire.ca
If you are in need of assistance please contact the Red Cross at 1 800 863-6582 or online at:http://www.redcross.ca/how-we-help/current-emergency-responses
Report a wildfire 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 from you cellular phone
Fire Information Line 1-888-336-7378
Applying for Employment Insurance
• Affected workers are encouraged to apply as soon as possible for EI benefits online or in person, even without a Record of Employment.
• A reference code has been put in place to allow Service Canada to process Employment Insurance (EI) claims: 5986012017071017.
• In their applications, clients will be asked: Were you given a reference code to submit with this application?
• When applying, claimants are to enter their mailing address as the address where they can receive mail (friend, family, shelter, etc.). This can be updated later, as necessary. Claimants are to enter their residential address as their usual place of residence prior to their evacuation.
• For EI information by phone, affected workers can call 1-800-206-7218.
• Individuals expecting to receive an EI payment by cheque and need a replacement cheque should also call 1-800-206-7218.
Other Programs and Services
• Information for Employers interested in applying for Work-Sharing can be found online at www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/work-sharing or by calling
1-866-891-5319.
• Individuals expecting to receive a Canada Pension Plan or Old Age Security payment by cheque and need a replacement cheque should call 1-800-277-9914 (Option “1”).
• Individuals who submitted a passport application and are expecting their passport in the mail should call 1-800-567-6868.
• Individuals who need to replace a lost, damaged or stolen passport should also call 1-800-567-6868.
• Information on programs and services is available through an important notice on the Service Canada homepage www.servicecanada.gc.ca.
Service Delivery Locations (all times local)
Prince George
Prince George Service Canada Centre
1363 4 Avenue
Prince George, BC
Hours of service: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday
Prince George Evacuation Centre
College of New Caledonia
3330 22 Avenue
Prince George, BC
Hours of service: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., 7 days per week
Kamloops
Kamloops Service Canada Centre
520 Seymour Street, Floor 1
Kamloops, BC
Hours of service: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday
Kamloops Evacuation Centre
Thompson Rivers University
900 McGill Road
Kamloops, BC
Hours of service: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., 7 days per week
Kamloops Resiliency Centre
Soccer Central Lounge McArthur Island
1500 Island Parkway
Kamloops, BC
Hours of service: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., 7 days per week
Merritt
Merritt Scheduled Outreach
Rail Yard Mall
2194 Coutlee Avenue
Merritt, BC
Hours of service: 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., office is closed from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Thursday, August 24, 2017
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More information: 613-947-4524