Obscene is probably the only word that captures the cruel absurdity of a situation that’s playing out in Pontiac and across the province.
While the provincial power-brokers in Quebec City quibble about . . .
the legality of headscarves and growing plants, the citizens that they are supposed to be serving are struggling to cope in the aftermath of the flooding that tore through the region this spring.
The Equity interviewed a cross-section of citizens in Waltham this week to put a face on the problems that are afflicting thousands of people rebuilding and renovating their homes. Some were living in un-insulated trailers, others were forced to move in with relatives.
Every single one had some choice words for the provincial Ministry of Public Security (MSP), which has been handling the compensation for those whose primary residences were affected. There are even victims who have yet to be compensated for their losses from the flooding in 2017, and their reimbursements had to be rolled into their 2019 package. Municipalities are also out hundreds of thousands of dollars for road repairs, with no reimbursement in sight.
Mismanagement is an understatement. This is a colossal failure by both elected officials and the workers in the various government ministries.
But the delays in assessments and permit approvals are just the latest in what has been a lengthy pattern of bureaucratic bungling on this file.
Earlier this summer there was outrage when the government released its flood zone maps, which included many areas that didn’t actually flood. Some of the most damning evidence of the government’s terrible planning was that the first version of the map even included the multi-million dollar ZIBI condo development in Hull, a glaring oversight to say the least.
In Pontiac, Fort Coulonge Mayor Gaston Allard didn’t mince words earlier this summer when he spoke to Radio-Canada about the rollout of the special intervention zone, which affected hundreds of his constituents.
“The cartographer should’ve been fired on the spot,” he is quoted as saying.
What’s desperately needed is some leadership on the file. Since the spring, local officials have been calling for an investigation into the management of the river, and the topic has been passed around like a hot potato. Both Ontario and Quebec are apparently in talks on the issue along with the feds, but with an election quickly approaching, it might be a while longer before we have a solid answer.
It’s been months since the waters have receded and there has been no plan announced to even study the issue. While the suits tarry in their ivory towers, real people on the ground are struggling to cope, their life-long investments lying in shambles, their property values completely tanked.
Something’s got to change, and quick, because this goat rodeo has gone on for far too long already.
Caleb Nickerson
