Montreal suburb residents angered at new flood maps
Over 100 homeowners attended a Pierrefonds-Roxboro meeting on Thursday night to learn more about the proposed flood maps for their Montreal borough.
Many are concerned about how suddenly being in a flood zone might impact their home value and residential taxes, in addition to their insurance rates and the ability to get a mortgage or resell.
The Quebec government began public consultations on flood management in June 2023, but the maps were only made public recently.
The consultations take into account previous floods in 2017, 2019 and 2023, as well as the expected effects of climate change.
The maps show that about 1,800 homes in the community are now considered to be in a flood zone. That is 70 per cent more than before.
The borough mayor and many residents doubt how valid the map is and say that anti-flood solutions have been suggested.
"There are certainly mitigating issues here that we can put some permanent infrastructure in place that we've been saying since 2017," said borough mayor Jim Beis. "We have some solutions, maybe not across the board, but there are things that we can do, and the government, the City of Montreal, both levels of government, have done nothing for us."
There is under a week to go until public consultations end on Oct. 17.
One resident said that in addition to questions about what homes are added to the map, there are also questions about some homes that are not on it.
"I have my doubts about the maps," said resident Robert Idsinga. "I went to look at the locations of certain homes that I know do flood, and they're actually not included in the flood zone. Certain homes of certain politicians are actually not included on the flood zone which is kind of interesting and then other areas that we absolutely know did flood in the big flooding are, again, not included. There's very big discrepencies there. There's problems with this."
Idsinga is involved with the class action efforts underway to challenge the maps.
The proposed new flood maps put around 77,000 Quebec homes in flood zones, compared to around 22,000 before.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Economy adds 47,000 jobs in September, unemployment rate falls to 6.5 per cent
The economy added 47,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate declined for the first time since January to 6.5 per cent.
Trudeau touts 'real progress' on pharmacare, calls on premiers to start cutting deals
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is calling on provinces and territories to start negotiating pharmacare deals as soon as possible, now that the federal legislation to enact the program has become law.
Common heart conditions raise the risk of dementia, experts say
If you are one of the millions with heart disease, you have a higher risk for future dementia, according to the American Heart Association.
'He told me he fell in love with me': Canadian senior loses $20K to romance scam
Two sisters from Ontario travelled to Newfoundland to spend time with their mom after they learned she lost $20,000 to a romance scam.
opinion What are the best ways to boost your income in Canada?
Whether you're looking to pay off debt, save for a big purchase, or simply give yourself greater financial stability, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the best ways to boost your income.
Residents repair their homes and clean up after Hurricane Milton tore through Florida
Florida residents repaired damage from Hurricane Milton and cleaned up debris Friday after the storm smashed through coastal communities and tore homes to pieces, flooded streets and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes.
Gruelling days and gratitude for Canadian linemen helping with U.S. hurricane outages
Quebecer Stephan Perreault and his team of linemen have been helping restore power in North Carolina since Hurricane Helene hit in late September, and they don't expect to be heading home any time soon.
Winnipeg School Division apologizes over message displayed during professional development day
The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.
Al Pacino says being a new dad at 84 is a 'mini miracle'
Al Pacino is enjoying being a late-in-life dad. The legendary actor talked about being a father to a brood, including to 16-month-old Roman with producer Noor Alfallah.