Chris Lowrey
MUNICIPALITY OF PONTIAC Jan. 23, 2018Quebec’s Public Safety Minister Martin Coiteux paid a visit to the Municipality of Pontiac’s town hall to discuss the municipality’s progress when it comes to the cleanup of the spring flooding.
Coiteux, along with Municipality of Pontiac Mayor Joanne Labadie, Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs Marc Croteau, Pontiac MNA André Fortin and several administrators with the municipality went over the main concerns of the municipality.
Coiteux was in the region to discuss municipal affairs and paid a special visit to the Municipality of Pontiac, one of the regions that was hardest hit by the spring floods.

One of the main issues broached by the staff from the municipality was the insistence by the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) on the need for confidentiality of those affected by the flooding.
“Some of our residents who have outstanding files with the MSP, there’s a confidentiality clause that prohibits the municipality from getting access to information to be able to help [them],” Labadie said. “We don’t have that problem with the Red Cross, they’re very good at sharing information.”
Labadie said that this issue was brought up when she was in Quebec City in December discussing municipal affairs.
Other issues dogging the municipality are related to the costs associated with the floods.
“The municipality was billed $190,000 from the MRC [des Collines] for additional police services and we felt that should have been covered by the MSP under the flood compensation,” Labadie said.
However, Labadie said that she is pleased with the MSP because there has been some progress on addressing the $190,000 bill.
The municipality is in the process of finishing its post-mortem of the floods, which will outline where the municipality responded well and where it can improve the response.
But Labadie also cited the fact that MRC des Collines doesn’t have a regional civil protection plan.
Labadie said she went to an MRC council meeting last year and asked why there is no regional civil protection plan and was told by the former warden that the MRC was not required to have one.
“[That] is not the case,” Labadie said. “It is required by the public security code.”
But it doesn’t appear that the MRC des Collines is alone in not having a regional civil protection plan.
“I followed up with [André] Fortin at the time and he did say that 60 per cent of municipalities and MRC’s in Quebec do not have a civil protection plan even though they are required to have one,” Labadie said.
Her goal is to push the MRC to implement one as soon as possible. Labadie said the deluge of rain that caused flooding in MRC des Collines in November helped demonstrate the need for a civil protection plan.
Another topic covered at the meeting with Coiteux was the regional plan for the village of Quyon.
“Much of the village is in the 0-20 flood zone, including the water treatment centre,” Labadie said. “Had it not been for the work of the public works department that put in the sand dyke to protect the village, much of the village would have been lost.”
Labadie said, had it not been for the dyke, the water treatment plant would have been lost, which would have led to three times more victims at least.
Labadie said she asked Coiteux to work with his counterparts in the Ministry of the Environment to make sure Quyon gets the infrastructure needed to protect it from future floods.
Much of the shoreline in the village is environmentally protected, which limits the kind of work that can be done.
“Because it’s a 0-20 flood zone, we need Ministry of the Environment approval to do anything to the shoreline to be able to help protect the village,” Labadie said.
She also said that Coiteux was receptive to the idea and said he would take the issue to his colleagues in the National Assembly.