Quebec Premier François Legault says his main priority is getting victims of last week’s flooding more financial compensation, and he’s considering adjusting some government aid programs to do it.
Legault met with officials in the town of Louiseville, Que., in the Mauricie region Thursday morning, where 250 residents were affected by torrential rain. The heavy rain led to landslides across southern Quebec, widespread road damage and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of Hydro-Québec clients.
He said his government is now looking into the possibility of expanding government aid programs to help reimburse people who suffered damages by sewer backup — something basic insurance policies do not cover.
“If the sewer backups were exceptionally numerous due to flooding, well, common sense would tell us that we should maybe expand the program, so that’s something we’re looking at right now,” he told reporters.
The premier said his top priorities after the flooding were to restore power for about 550,000 Hydro-Québec clients and reopen or repair washed out roads that left homes isolated.
“It was done,” he said. “The problem that remains … has to do with financial compensation for people who were flooded.”
He clarified that he’s not saying the government would cover all sewer backups or compensate people 100 per cent, but the door is open for providing more help.
According to the latest update from the Quebec government, 86 municipalities were affected by the intense storm. In all, 2,300 residences were flooded and about 460 residents evacuated from their homes. As of Wednesday, 53 roads were still damaged and 348 homes were still inaccessible.
More to come.