Painful debates await Quebec society in the coming months. The Legault government is preparing to unveil new rules concerning development in flood zones which promise to cause a stir. As a result of a combination of gross neglect in land use planning and the accelerating effects of climate change, tens of thousands of homeowners are about to discover that their most emotionally and economically valuable investment, their roof, will be worth little more than a house of cards in the immediate future.
The Press recently reported that the new flood zone mapping would affect thousands of homeowners, who could see the value of their property decrease significantly, in addition to compromising financing, insurance and resale opportunities.
Quebec has come a long way. How many homes are threatened by flooding? Impossible to determine at this time. The Ministries of Public Safety and the Environment do not collect data on the subject. The Ministry of the Environment even entrusted The Press that in some cases, the mapping of flood zones had not been redone for 30 years.
However, it is not as if flooding is a recent phenomenon. Like the launch of lobster fishing, Groundhog Day or even the start of the school year, they are part of the media ritual every spring, and now in summer with the formation of atmospheric rivers and torrential floods. We cannot feign ignorance, and yet we are no better prepared to face the immediate challenges of climate change.
According to data from the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the floods of 2017 and 2019 cost insurance companies $58 million and $280 million respectively. The Quebec government also assumed 390 million in uninsured losses. The shock prompted Quebec to undertake a major project to update maps of flood zones. These maps, which will be made public soon, give rise to serious concerns. Will they be drawn with the fine line of nuance or the bold line of approximation?
Banking institutions and insurers are not waiting for a response before acting. The recent decision by Desjardins to interrupt financing for the purchase of homes in 0-20 year flood zones has caused consternation. Owners fear they will no longer be able to dispose of their property, because Desjardins was one of the last institutions still financing properties located in flood zones. The cooperative has opted for a semi-detached formula. If a client who already has a loan wants to sell their house, it will finance the potential buyer up to 65% of the price.
This decision demonstrates pragmatism in risk management. Desjardins, despite its status as a cooperative movement rooted in the economic evolution of Quebec, cannot ignore this harsh reality. In the long term, the market will take care of the rest. Who will want to acquire a property in a risk zone when the irrepressible wave of climate change swallows up the tranquility of neighboring owners?
It is therefore urgent to paint a picture of the situation and review our collective assessment of risk. Taking action will remain a colossal challenge. Who will have to pay to improve the resilience of at-risk properties? Cities, so inclined to demand both autonomy and sources of financing, cannot be spared the effort required, just as they bear part of the responsibility for the careless granting of construction permits in flood zones. What will be the criteria justifying an expropriation, given that public funds do not constitute an inexhaustible reserve? And how will we be able to distinguish carefree owners, knowingly installed in risk areas, from those who are overtaken by the brute and unpredictable force of climate change?
We will have to count on a reasoned approach from the elected representatives of the National Assembly to weather the storm. There are lives, towns and villages, retirement projects, parts of the territory and investment priorities in climate resilience that will be impacted by these changes. The map of flood zones will quickly become the map of discord without a coherent plan from the Legault government and clear explanations on what happens next. It will not be an easy task to find the right distribution of the financial burden between citizens, cities and Quebec to increase our collective resilience. This is an issue that requires a non-partisan approach in the search for solutions that will be sustainable, realistic and equitable.