(Baie-Saint-Paul) About fifty houses in the historic sector of Baie-Saint-Paul are no longer “viable”, municipal representatives said during a meeting with François Legault. The victims will be supported by compensation programs, underlined the Prime Minister.

“There are bits that can be saved, and others that will be difficult,” Mr. Legault explained during a press scrum. He was a few steps from the protective wall which gave way under the forces of the waters of the Gouffre River on Monday, flooding part of the sector of the lower town of Baie-Saint-Paul at the same time.

“We’re going to wonder what we can do for infrastructure. Some problems can be solved, but others cannot. We may be asking people to move,” he said.

During a meeting with the mayor of the city, Michaël Pilote, and his team, Mr. Legault received an update on the situation. Alain Gravel, director of public security for Baie-Saint-Paul, explained to him that many houses have completely “lost their foundation” and “that about fifty houses will probably no longer be viable”.

The flooding in Baie-Saint-Paul, but also elsewhere in Quebec, “also raises the question of the impact of climate change,” explained Mr. Legault. “We said it, the risk here is one year in 100, but there, it will be much more than that. […] There was a wall here. We will see what we can do to limit the damage and adapt,” added Mr. Legault.

The difficulty, he added, is that despite the offer of financial assistance “to help people settle elsewhere”, some resist “and want to stay, even if they are uninsured”. ?

The Prime Minister also issued a warning: “Taxpayers cannot pay twice, three times, four times to renovate and rebuild houses”.

And Mr. Legault believes that this question must be asked everywhere in Quebec. In Baie-Saint-Paul, a dike failed. In Sainte-Émélie-de-l’Énergie, a dam gave way. How to ensure in this context that the sometimes aging infrastructures of Quebec are ready for climate change?

“That’s what you have to look at. Let us remember Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac. We built a new, higher dike. There are places where it will be possible, and places where it will not. It’s going to have to be looked at on a case-by-case basis,” he said. The day before, however, he again closed the door on the demand for cities to create a “green pact” of 2 billion per year to adapt to climate change, while promising additional sums.

François Legault also underlined the “infinite sadness” he feels for the two missing firefighters. The body of one of them was probably recovered in the morning.

“The hardest thing is the two firefighters. A man in his fifties, full of good faith, who left with his kind of boat with wheels to help a couple who saw their house being surrounded by water, and a young boy of 23 years old. It’s endlessly sad,” he said.

“You have to be careful in making judgments about what was done, when it became serious. At first it was a flood, and all of a sudden the power went out,” he said.