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| Canada's Ontario rejects federal SARS relief offer |
| CCTV.COM 2003-06-20 16:06:09 |
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Canada's Ontario Province on Thursday rejected an offer of up to 250 million Canadian dollars （180 million US dollars） from the federal government for the severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） relief.
David Young, the province's municipal affairs minister, called the offer "outrageous" in light of the 1.2 billion Canadian dollars （about 900 million US dollars） the province has already spent battling the disease.
"It would be irresponsible for us to take it. I think this is outrageous," Young said after a meeting with federal Defense Minister John McCallum.
McCallum said he made an immediate offer of 150 million Canadian dollars （about 110 million US dollars） at Thursday's meeting, while the remaining 100 million Canadian dollars （about 70 million US dollars） would be "subject to discussion."
Young said he was disappointed that the federal government did not see the SARS crisis as worthy of federal disaster relief money.
"We have spent almost 1.2 billion Canadian dollars to date to save lives, to support municipalities, to offer compensation to individuals who were quarantined," Young said.
Last week, the provincial government announced a compensation package for Ontario residents forced into quarantine as a result of SARS. The Isolation Allowance, which starts at 500 Canadian dollars （about 380 US dollars） and is capped at 6,000 Canadian dollars （about 4,500 US dollars）, can also be claimed by those who lost earnings because they were caring for someone with SARS or were ill themselves. Part－time workers can claim at least 250 Canadian dollars （about 180 US dollars）.
Thirty－five people have died of SARS in Ontario's Toronto area since the outbreak of the disease in late February.
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Editor: Yang Feiyang Source:Xinhua
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