Lake Manitoba Flood Class Action Lawsuit Settlement 2021

Exchange Solutions Inc. is the Claims Administrator for the 2011 Lake Manitoba Flood Class Action Settlement Agreement that received the Court-Approval Order by the Honourable Justice Joan McKelvey of the Court of Queen's Bench on January 13, 2022.

NOVEMBER 2022 UPDATE

The Claims Administrator has received and registered over 1,600 Claims. All Claimants that filed their Claim Registration Form by the filing deadline were sent their Notice of Receipt of the Claim Registration Forms.

As at the end of September 2022, the Claims Administrator received from Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) the majority of the 2011 Lake Manitoba Financial Assistance Program files for the Claimants who had received compensation during the year 2012 to 2014.

As part of our multi-level review process, the Claims Administrator has been reviewing the MASC documentation received in order to determine the Class Action Settlement eligibility of these Claimants applications.

For Claimants that did not apply for 2011 Lake Manitoba Financial Assistance Program compensation during the year 2012 to 2014, a detailed review of their claims for Class Action Settlement eligibility will begin once all the MASC Claimants have been completed.

Notices of Eligibility with a Claim Option Form or Notices of Ineligibility are being sent to Claimants and will continue to be sent throughout the following months as all the claims are assessed.

ELIGIBLE MASC CLAIMANTS: Claim Option Form

The Claim Option Form will provide two options.

Option 1 Fixed Payment Amount: If you had received compensation from the original Government of Manitoba Financial Assistance Program between 2011 and 2014, you will be provided with an option to select a Fixed Payment Amount that has been defined in the class action settlement agreement and will not require you to provide any further supporting evidence to the Claims Administrator. Upon receipt of the Claim Option Form, you will have 90 days to select the option you would like and return the completed Claim Option Form to the Claims Administrator.

Option 2 Detailed Assessment: If you did not file a claim with or receive any compensation from the original Government of Manitoba Financial Assistance Program, or if you choose not to take the Option 1 Fix Payment Amount you may select this option that provides for a Detailed Assessment of your claim by the Claims Administrator.

INELIGIBLE CLAIMANTS

If the Claims Administrator determines that you do not meet the eligibility criteria, you will be provided the opportunity, within a set timeframe to provide further information, to potentially substantiate your eligibility.

In either case, the Claims Administrator may request supporting documentation for your claim from you.

Please refer to the Claims Administration Procedure for full details of the court-approved process and compensable damages, as well as the Summary of Class Action Settlement Compensable Damages and Losses.

The deadline to file a claim for potential compensation under the Class Action Settlement ended on April 14, 2022.

No further claims can be accepted.

A class action lawsuit was initiated against the Province of Manitoba in 2013 on behalf of those affected by the 2011 Lake Manitoba flood waters.

In 2021, the Province of Manitoba and the class legal counsel DD West LLP reached a settlement of $85.5m that was approved by the Court of Queens Bench on January 13, 2022.

Dependent on the volume of Claims received by the Claims Administrator, it is estimated that those eligible claimants that select Option 1 Fixed Payment option may receive their payment late summer of 2023, subject to unforeseen circumstances, and for those claimants that are either first time claimers for compensation or select Option 2 Detailed Assessment on the Claim Option Form, it is estimated that those claimants may receive their payment within two years.