Article content

OTTAWA – The federal government will likely be responsible for hundreds of millions – and potentially billions — of dollars in costs resulting from the Fort McMurray wildfires.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Wednesday the government will provide necessary federal assets, logistical support and financial aid to help respond to the fires.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Fort McMurray disaster relief could cost federal government billions of dollars Back to video

One key area is the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA), which provides aid to provinces and territories in the event of a large-scale natural disaster.

The program sees the federal government eventually cover up to 90 per cent of eligible costs for responding to and recovering from a disaster, once it reaches a certain threshold.

The DFAA program will begin doling out dollars when eligible costs exceed $3.03 per capita – in Alberta’s case, about $12.8 million.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or

The federal contribution ratchets up, and once the eligible expenditures reach approximately $64 million for Alberta, Ottawa will begin covering the remaining 90 per cent of eligible costs, according to the formula.