

Sandie Benitah, CP24.com





Disadvantaged Ontarians who found themselves struggling to afford extra groceries during a lengthy power outage over the holidays may soon get some relief.

Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Sunday a $25,000 donation from Loblaw which will help the government provide food compensation to some of the ice storm victims.

Gift certificates will be given to those who had to buy new groceries after their food perished during the outage. Priority will be given to those experiencing financial difficulties.

Details on the program – including how Ontarians can apply for the gift cards -- have yet to be determined, Wynne said. However she encouraged other grocers to donate and said residents are welcome to donate money as well.

Wynne said the government is trying to determine the best way to match the donations. Provincial officials will be working closely with food banks and their distribution system, she said.

At the height of the outage, 300,000 properties in Toronto alone were without power. Thousands more were off the electricity grid around the GTA in York, Durham and Peel regions as well as surrounding areas.

The massive outage happened after much of southern Ontario was hit by an ice storm on Dec. 21. The outage lasted through Christmas and could continue into the new year, ruining groceries purchased for gatherings with friends and family.

Hydro officials say the worst is over and they expect the power to be fully restored within the next couple of days.

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