Dear members,
In May 2025, the OPSEU/SEFPO Executive Board passed the following motion:
Ice Storm
Whereas a highly destructive and otherwise consequential ice storm struck South Central Ontario at the end of March 2025.
Whereas the storm caused significant property damage and lengthy power outages for hundreds of thousands of Ontarians, prompting several jurisdictions to declare a state of emergency; and
Whereas OPSEU/SEFPO has a proud history of providing assistance to members facing hardship following consequential weather events.
Therefore be it resolved that, from the contingency fund, OPSEU/SEFPO will allocate additional funding – amount in the attached proposal that any of the Regional Hardship Fund Committees may assess with a majority vote of the respective Committee Members; and
Be it further resolved that the additional funding will only be used to provide hardship relief related to the March 2025 ice storm and any allocated funding not distributed accordingly will be returned to the general fund at the end of 2025; and
Be it further resolved that the maximum hardship relief from the additional funding will be limited per member as identified in the attached proposal;
Be it further resolved that Regional Hardship Fund Committees that have already disbursed funds related to March 2025 ice storm hardship relief may seek reimbursement up to the per member limit for each disbursement from the additional funding; and
Be it further resolved that the Regional Hardship Committees will be advised of the defined purpose of the additional funding allocation and the process to access it for disbursement.
The motion allocates additional funds, to a maximum of $500/member (within a province-wide maximum), to assist members who experienced financial hardship due to the March 28, 2025 Ice Storm, which impacted wide areas of central and eastern Ontario.
In order for members in good standing/retired members to access this additional funding, they must apply no later than September 30, 2025 (and receive payment by the end of 2025) and demonstrate to their Regional Hardship Committee that:
- They live in the affected area.
-
- The Ontario Government provided the following map that outlines the affected areas: https://www.ontario.ca/files/2025-06/mmah-misa-impacted-areas-ice-storm-map-en-2025-06-17.pdf.
- They experienced documented financial impact due to Ice Storm.
-
- Some examples of documentation that may demonstrate this type of financial impact could be receipts for renovations related to remediation, hotel stays, etc.
If you experienced financial hardship due to the March 28 Ice Storm and wish to apply for hardship relief, please complete a Regional Hardship Fund Application Form (which can be found here: https://opseu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2022_05_Regional-Hardship-Form_fillable_EN.pdf?utm_source=post) and email it to your region’s Regional Hardship Committee, with the required documentation.
Each Regional Hardship Committee’s email address is on the Form but can also be found below:
- Region 1: R1Hardship@opseu.org
- Region 2: R2Hardship@opseu.org
- Region 3: R3Hardship@opseu.org
- Region 4: R4Hardship@opseu.org
- Region 5: R5Hardship@opseu.org
- Region 6: R6Hardship@opseu.org
- Region 7: R7Hardship@opseu.org
If you have questions about this process, please reach out to First Vice-President/Treasurer Laurie Nancekivell (lnancekivell@opseu.org), copying FVPOffice@opseu.org.
In solidarity,
JP Hornick and Laurie Nancekivell
President and First Vice-President/Treasurer
OPSEU/SEFPO