The owners of a campground near Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, are suing the provincial government over losses they claim are related to massive flooding in June.
Rebne and Pernell Lehr filed their lawsuit in January, asking for an unspecified sum of money to cover repairs and lost income, CBC.ca reported.
According to the statement of claim, the couple did receive $475,000 in disaster assistance money, however they say that is not enough to cover their losses.
“This will not cover the reconstruction costs, or adequately compensate them for the extraordinary loss they have suffered,” the claim says.
“Business was excellent in 2008 and 2009,” the claims says, “there was a lengthy waiting list for seasonal stalls and no significant changes were anticipated in 2010.”
The lawsuit said the business, known as the Eagle Valley Park Campground, had an appraised value of $2.7 million and that the operators had recently added $300,000 in upgrades.
The lawsuit claims the provincial government did not do enough to protect their land from flooding.
No one was commenting to CBC News about the case.
The statement of claim contains allegations that have not been proven in court.
The campground was bought by the couple in 2002 after it sat idle for 10 years. They said they fixed up the site and made it into a “popular local attraction and also a well-known tourist destination.”
In addition to camping spaces it featured a trout pond, ice cream parlor, swimming pool and coffee bar.
“The Eagle Valley Park Campground was not only a labor of love for the plaintiffs, it was also their home and their livelihood,” the lawsuit says.
The campground is located in a valley south of the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Maple Creek.
According to a notice released in June, the valley was hit hard in the flood that also affected Maple Creek. The valley was quickly filled to a depth of 10 feet. The water flowed through the valley and continued to the Trans-Canada where it washed away a portion of the highway.
