Montreal asks Québec to introduce new measures to adapt to climate change

Discarded furniture and other household belongings are shown on a street in Beaconsfield west of Montreal, Tuesday, August 13, 2024, following a storm that dumped up to 175 millimetres of rain on Montreal and across other regions of the province. (Graham Hughes, The Canadian Press)

The Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM) is asking the Quebec government to implement new measures to adapt to climate change, and to adjust the general financial assistance program (PGAF).

At the close of the forum on urban floods and runoff on Friday, CMM elected representatives, which groups 82 municipalities, issued three requests to the Quebec government.

"We need to improve emergency response plans" and "support the renovation of homes to make them more resilient," in addition to increasing "the compensation offered to homeowners by adjusting the General Disaster Financial Assistance Program," said Nicolas Milot, director of ecological transition and innovation at the CMM.

Improving emergency response plans

Accompanying citizens during crises, such as the one that occurred during Storm Debby's passage, "requires resources" that municipalities don't have, Milot argued, in an interview with The Canadian Press.

At the beginning of August, Debby brought more than 150 mm of rain to the region in half a day, and more than 180 mm to the north of the metropolitan area.

In the aftermath of the storm, "the management of residual materials after the disaster caused many problems in certain municipalities"" due, in particular, to "the exceptional quantities of debris," Milot said as an example to justify the need to "improve emergency response plans."

Making homes more resilient

The CMM would like Quebec to support the renovation of residences to make them more resilient and less vulnerable to the risks of urban runoff.

"There are a number of things we can do to make homes less vulnerable and, above all, to reduce the damage caused by potential backups," he said.

Milot explained that "currently, when a citizen receives a payment from his insurance company, there is a very good chance that he will rebuild in the same way, using the same materials in the same places.

However, he added, "if he later experiences the same disaster, he will undoubtedly suffer identical or even (...) greater damage."

To remedy this kind of situation, "there are ways of developing the built environment, especially basements, which would make the residence more resilient and the damage less severe in future events," said Milot. Expanding the GFMP

The CMM is criticizing the Quebec government for failing to make any of the changes to its compensation program announced following the flooding caused by Storm Debby.

The PGAF rules state that "a loss will be eligible for the program if water enters the residence through sewer backup or infiltration following flooding."

However, "if the flooding is caused by a sewer backup or water infiltration without overflow from a nearby watercourse, the loss will not be covered by the PGAF."

The CMM is asking that all victims of sewer backup, even those living far from a waterway, be included in the PGAF when there is flooding, as was the case after Storm Debby.

"The government was talking about expanding state compensation, which is not available under the current program. But as it turns out, there has been no expansion of the national disaster compensation program," Milot said.

According to a press release issued by the CMM, these three measures must "be part of a governmental vision of flood risk management" to be included in the Plan de protection du territoire face aux inondations adopted in 2020.

"Cities are already adapting their underground networks and surfaces, but it is just as much a priority for the government to improve accompanying measures and assistance programs," said Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante, who is the CMM president. "The regulatory framework must offer greater flexibility to reconcile flood risk management objectives with the different realities of the metropolitan territory and the needs of the population."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 11, 2024.