Laval is working hard to collect as much debris as possible before the crisis caused by the storm Debby does not turn into a health crisis. Nearly 175 mm of water fell on the municipality over the past weekend, a record.
Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer announced at a press conference on Thursday that 250 blue-collar workers will be deployed in the coming days to pick up “as quickly as possible” the debris caused by the floods. The city has also signed contracts with seven private companies to add an additional hundred trucks that will travel throughout the municipality.
The City will also open its snow dump sites that do not operate in the summer. The goal is to compensate for the difficulties in reaching the nearest dumps, which are those in Lachute and Terrebonne. The wait to access them is nearly two hours.
Stéphane Boyer explains that last week’s floods were “10 to 15 times worse” than those experienced in 2017 and 2019. In total, 24 municipal buildings were impacted by the passage of the storm. Debby.
“Climate change will force us collectively to rethink the way we do things and perhaps even rethink the way we build houses,” the mayor added.
A “human crisis”
Since last Friday, the City of Laval has received no fewer than 8,900 calls to 311, a line dedicated to reporting and requests for information. According to Stéphane Boyer, more than 10,000 people are affected in his municipality.
Beyond money, it is a human crisis.
Stéphane Boyer, Mayor of Laval
He added that renovation permits will be made free for citizens. A team entirely dedicated to supporting Laval residents in permit applications will also be deployed.
The Press revealed Thursday morning that Laval residents are considering filing a class action against the City of Laval for the damage caused by the storm. According to them, the construction work carried out near their residences contributed to the accumulation of water.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
A citizens’ group in Laval is convinced that the major work underway on the street has had an impact on the sewer backup.
For Stéphane Boyer, “the scale of this natural disaster was not foreseeable by the city.”
There is no municipal infrastructure that could have accommodated so much water in such a short time. If there are specific cases that were linked to a construction site or infrastructure that already had problems, we will assume our responsibilities. […] often we will reimburse before even having to file a lawsuit.
Stéphane Boyer, Mayor of Laval
He also said he was ready to meet the citizens in question who, according to him, remain “specific cases”.
The mayor of Laval did not, however, comment on a possible tax increase for his citizens next year. He also ruled out the idea of banning any basement construction in future homes.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
According to the mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer, more than 10,000 people are affected.
The deputy director of the office of elected officials of the opposition party Action Laval, Frédéric Mayer, deplores the time it took for the mayor of Laval to speak out publicly.
“It’s Thursday, it’s been almost a week since the rains and the mayor is reacting now,” he said.
He denounces investments by Mayor Boyer that are “not in the right place”. According to him, these should be mainly allocated to the maintenance of the sewer system.
Last Tuesday, his party submitted a proposal to the municipal council, which was then unanimously voted on, for the city to intervene or propose avenues of intervention to act quickly.