The Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) is asking the next Quebec government to implement a Green Pact with municipalities, at a cost of $2 billion per year, for the next five years, in order to respond immediately to the climate emergency.

The UMQ believes that an "ambitious partnership" with the government is necessary to provide the infrastructure needed to respond to climate change, and ensure the resilience of territories and the safety of the population.

"We are all already feeling the impacts of environmental issues that are causing tragedies in our cities and threatening future generations," said Montreal Mayor and UMQ President Valérie Plante at a news conference Tuesday morning in Montreal.

The UMQ argues that municipalities are on the front lines of the consequences of climate change.

During the news conference, which was attended by several elected officials, the mayor of Sherbrooke mentioned that the obsolescence of water infrastructure had even slowed down the construction project of a school.

"The CAQ recently announced the creation of a new high school in Sherbrooke, then, the first response of municipal services was that currently, we do not believe to have the capacity simply at the level of sewers, to be able to absorb this new pressure on the territory, so it also slows down the arrival of essential infrastructure such as that of high schools, "said Évelyne Beaudin. "It is time to have an equal partnership with other levels of government, and we must have the resources and flexibility to respond to the climate emergency."

The City of Longueuil estimates that it will cost $650 million just to expand and rebuild a drinking water supply plant.

"When there is an increase in rainfall or a lot of rain in a short period of time, the plant is not able to treat all the water, hence the phenomenon of overflow," said Mayor Catherine Fournier, adding that the problems are amplified "because there are more episodes of heavy rainfall." 

UMQ WANTS LEADERS TO VOTE ON FRIDAY

According to a WSP and Ouranos study, the costs to municipalities from precipitation, flooding, extreme heat and more intense freeze-thaw cycles are estimated at $2 billion annually through 2055.

"Road maintenance, water maintenance, sewer maintenance, bridge maintenance, culvert maintenance, building maintenance, that's going to be a 12 per cent increase in annual spending by municipalities," said Varennes Mayor and UMQ vice-president Martin Damphousse. "These additional expenses are the most important foreseeable budgetary issue for Quebecers, and the window of opportunity to limit the damage is very short."

Damphousse invited the leaders of the various political parties to express their views on the "Green Pact" on Friday during the "Electoral Summit."

During this meeting of municipal elected officials that will take place in Montreal, the UMQ plans to welcome the leaders of the various provincial political parties, to invite them to take a position on its municipal electoral platform.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 13, 2022.