Critics say Quebec must explain and refine flood-management plan

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The official opposition in the National Assembly and municipal leaders across Quebec are demanding the CAQ government do a better job of explaining exactly how expanded flood zones and its proposed new flood management plan will affect tens of thousands of homeowners.

In June, the province began public consultations on Bill 67, a new flood management plan that outlines strict new rules for what kinds of development will and won’t be allowed in flood-prone areas, and new guidelines that delineate four levels of severity of flood zones: very high, high, moderate and low-risk flood zones.

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Municipalities have objected to the fact that the government has been holding public consultations on the plan all summer without presenting corresponding maps of flood zones, which would give homeowners an indication of how they would be affected. Mayors have been fielding questions from worried homeowners without being able to provide clear information.

On Monday, the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) — the regional body that coordinates urban planning, economic development and environmental protection for the Greater Montreal region — released preliminary flood zone maps, drawn up according to the province’s proposed new guidelines, that showed the region’s expanded flood zones. Approximately twice as many households, about 20,000, are now considered to be in flood zones compared to what previous maps, some of which had not been updated since the 1970s, had shown.

The new mapping takes into account flooding events in recent years, notably 2017, 2019 and 2023, uncertainty linked to climate change and the possibility that such water management systems as dams and reservoirs can fail.

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On Tuesday, the official opposition Liberals demanded that representatives of the environment department meet directly with people who will be affected by the expansion of flood zones to explain the new regulations.

“The changes are major and will bring catastrophic repercussions for many,” said Liberal critics Michelle Setlakwe and Virginie Dufour in a joint statement. “Municipalities as much as their residents will be hard hit by this new map. … What’s more, the question of resilience of buildings should be taken into account to avoid considerable losses for many homeowners. A house is the investment of a lifetime, the government should show flexibility toward citizens who want to protect their property and immunize them (against flooding).”

Also on Tuesday, Union des Municipalités du Québec President Martin Damphousse said it is high time the provincial government released flood maps of the entire province and met with citizens directly to explain the repercussions of its flood management bill, which is expected to be adopted in the spring.

“Less than three weeks before the end of the environment ministry’s public consultation, more than half of Quebecers still do not have access to such mapping,” said Damphousse, mayor of Varennes. “Since the presentation of the flood-related modernization project, the UMQ has asked the ministry to make public mapping to illustrate the territorial impacts of its project. The presence of the ministry in the field, to explain to the population the various issues raised by its project, is crucial.”

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In its brief for the public consultation on the bill, the MMC demands more flexibility in the flood management plan to allow homeowners in flood zones to adapt their homes to make them more resilient and to allow municipalities to develop flood-adapted housing in flood zones. The MMC also wants the mapping to more clearly identify areas protected by dikes and other flood prevention infrastructure and loosen the rules for development in those areas. Finally the MMC says the rules governing regions that are downstream from a dam or series of dams are too strict and would severely constrain development in the Montreal region.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said she is fully onside with the MMC’s concerns with the proposed bill. She said the province is on the right track in its efforts to update flood maps, and regulate building, renovation and development in flood zones. But she said the proposed rules need some “refinement” and flexibility to allow for responsible development in flood-prone areas. She said the bylaw as it stands would unnecessarily restrict some homeowners from making basic improvements to their properties.

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“The objective is good, but it really has to be more refined because right now it puts Montrealers in a very difficult situation,” she told reporters on Tuesday. “Already they have been dealing with flooding, they have been dealing with maybe not being able to get insurance anymore, and now they maybe can’t even change a window.”

The mayor of the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough, Dimitrios (Jim) Beis, said some 1,800 residential buildings would be considered to be in flood zones under the preliminary mapping. He said about 70 per cent of those 1,800 were not considered to be in flood zones the last time the maps were updated, in 2019.

Beis said the bill as it stands will lead to abandoned neighbourhoods and unnecessary hardship for many homeowners.

“I am concerned about the consequences for citizens if this bill is adopted as is by the National Assembly,” Beis said. “Although we are in favour of risk management for buildings in flood-prone areas, I deplore the way the Quebec government is rejecting any proposal to adapt the built environment to rising river waters. The ministry favours a zero-risk approach, when there are already a multitude of methods to adapt our buildings to the risks of water, which should be put forward, rather than subjecting current and future homeowners to constraints and paving the way for the eventual devitalization of the affected neighbourhoods.”

Beis notes that the central sector of his borough is so affected by the new mapping that it is now comparable to a “disaster zone.” The borough has been working on a redevelopment plan for that sector since 2019, and that plan is not workable under the bylaw as it stands.

mlalonde@postmedia.com

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