Flood damage at Delta Beach

It appears Manitoba has no intention of stepping in to help flooded rural municipalities grappling with budget shortfalls.

The flood created significant financial pressures for some municipalities. The R-M of St. Laurent saw its tax base shrink by 10 per cent due to last summer's flood, which wiped out dozens of cottages along Lake Manitoba. The province, however, says it's in no position to provide any assitance at this time.
 The government is struggling with a hefty bill of its own, about $1 billion, that it spent trying to fight the flood.

Doug Dobrowalski president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities says the organization is aware of what's happening. He says they've only just heard about the situation, so they're in the process of gathering information. Dobrowolski says they'll concentrate on thehardest-hit areas of the province, such as the Assiniboine and Souris River areas.