(Maria, Gaspésie) Rue des Tournepierres, some want to stay. Others chose to leave. Everyone wonders what awaits them. For many, “it’s really a tragedy,” says the mayor of Maria.
Standing on her terrace, Joanne Audet gestures towards the ice-deprived Bay of Chaleurs. “In summer, it’s a paradise here. »
The “paradise” in question is called rue des Tournepierres, in Maria. Imagine around forty houses along the bay, the smell of the sea, the sound of the waves.
Joanne and her partner, Marcel, moved here in 2015 with the idea of spending their retirement years. But everything is about to change.
After a winter during which their little house braved three major storms – unheard of here – they received a letter from the government: their property was threatened by an imminent risk. Seven other property owners on the street received the letter.
They are ready to leave. They are not the only ones.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Marcel Breton and his partner Joanne Audet on their terrace facing the sea. Their little house weathered three major storms during the winter.
It was the worst winter of our lives. The sea overflowed everywhere. It came from everywhere. It was panic.
Joanne Audet, 64 years old, resident on rue des Tournepierres, in Maria
“The sea splashed on the patio door,” remembers Marcel Breton, 71 years old. They had to be evacuated by firefighters. “It was our retirement here,” says the man, with an air of disappointment.
When the first inhabitants of rue des Tournepierres settled here more than 40 years ago, there was still ice on the Baie des Chaleurs in winter. There was still a little there 30 years ago when the municipality built the water distribution network and the street sewers.
But the ice on the bay is becoming increasingly rare. And with the climate and ocean warming, experts expect to see fewer and fewer of them. It was this ice that protected the street from winter storms.
Rue des Tournepierres, everyone wonders what awaits them. In October, at a meeting organized by Maria and the Ministry of Public Safety (MSP), citizens were presented with maps that predicted the street would be submerged in 50 years.
“In 50 years, I will be dead,” says Danielle Cyr, 76, met while she was walking in the salty air of the early morning.
Mme Cyr is one of those who wants to stay. Some houses on the street are less affected by the storms… for now.
We’re not the only ones. All around Gaspésie, there are people on the seaside. Are they going to expropriate everyone around Gaspésie?
Danielle Cyr, 76 years old, resident on rue des Tournepierres, in Maria
Millions to secure the bank
“In Gaspésie, they lost cod, shrimp, the train, the bus and now they are going to lose their house? », wonders, incredulously, one of the owners of the street, Henri-Pierre Laridan. This neo-Gaspésian of Corsican origin intends to stay. His house was not damaged. And he eagerly awaits an announcement on investments to protect the street.
Maria was promised 10 million from Quebec to develop coastal protections in 2022. The then Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault, even came to the site for the announcement.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Maria’s commercial sector is also considered at risk.
Engineers from the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) and the municipality of Maria are designing technical solutions to protect the street, but also the commercial sector of the municipality, which is at risk and where the only grocery store is located .
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Gilles Savoie spent only one winter on Rue des Tournepierres as a tenant, and it will be his last. He had to evacuate the house twice. “It’s a beautiful place. The people who lose this are going to lose a lot. »
But the ocean does not wait for analyses. The three winter storms prompted the MSP to urgently send eight homeowners a letter informing them that their property was threatened by an “imminent risk.” Other letters of this type could follow in rue des Tournepierres, according to our information.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The Ministry of Public Security has informed eight property owners on rue des Tournepierres that their residence is at “imminent risk.”
Depending on property values, some could receive up to $385,000 in compensation if they choose to leave. The funds will come from the General Financial Assistance Program (PGAF) during MSP disasters.
Joanne and Marcel intend to accept the government’s offer and leave their beloved street. “We’re in a lot of pain, it’s hard, but we know we have to leave,” says Joanne. “We know we can’t go against that. The sea wants to take its place again. »
Those who remain
Maria and the MSP will organize a meeting in May or June to present to residents the technical solutions that exist to protect the banks. But the mayor of Maria does not expect a miracle. “If you are sitting in your kitchen and there is a stone wall in front and you see nothing, this is perhaps not a solution,” says Jean-Claude Landry.
Choices will have to be made. And time is running out: Quebec’s decision to offer eight owners compensation to leave the street without waiting for this meeting is proof of this.
“We certainly wouldn’t want an event like Baie-Saint-Paul in the spring,” warns the mayor. The firefighters had to intervene. Two died from drowning. »
The mayor indicates that the municipality wants to create a subdivision on the land where street residents who wish could find rehousing.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Jean-Claude Landry, mayor of Maria
There have been retirees there for 25 years. They are very attached to the environment, to the Baie des Chaleurs. For them, having to move will be quite a loss. It’s really a tragedy.
Jean-Claude Landry, mayor of Maria
Those who want to leave the streets are not the only ones to worry. Those who remain wonder what will remain of their living environment when many neighbors have left.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The House of Dr Philippe Aubin also serves as his workplace.
“The worst that could happen would be that the municipality abandons the aqueduct, stops maintaining the road and the citizens who are there will make arrangements,” says the Dr Philippe Aubin.
This family doctor welcomes us into his house on rue des Tournepierres, the same place where he receives his patients for consultations. The house bathed in light is the highest on the street. The Dr Aubin says he understands those who choose to leave. He does not fear the rising waters. He is preparing to stay.
During the winter, his house suffered no damage, but was surrounded by water twice. He was forced to cancel a handful of appointments: patients simply couldn’t come to him.
The Dr Aubin denounces alarmist communication from the municipality. According to him, “emotions took over”.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
If the house of Dr Philippe Aubin was spared during the winter storms, but she still found herself surrounded by water on two occasions.
The municipality suggested that an imminent catastrophe was going to happen here, like a tsunami. But what is happening to us here is not a tsunami.
The Dr Philippe Aubin, resident of rue Tournepierres
“The people here on the street understood that the municipality wanted to force them to leave. »
Many are of the opinion of Dr Aubin and chose to stay. Others dream of leaving, but feel stuck. A lady met in front of her house explains, disappointed, that she has not received the famous letter from the government. How to sell your house after the events of winter?
“I’m 76 years old, do you think I want to live the rest of my life watching the sea rise in November? I have other things to do,” says the woman who asked not to be named.
The lady called the MSP. She asked if she would also receive compensation for leaving. She didn’t get a satisfactory answer. In the meantime, she says she feels “caught” in a “kind of anxiety”. If the government made her a “reasonable” offer, she would leave tomorrow morning.
“I’ve been here for 18 years, 18 years of good life. It’s beautiful here, it’s magnificent, it breaks my heart to leave. »