Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety Geneviève Guilbault on Sunday congratulated herself on the $16 million her department has dedicated to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine for climate change prevention work undertaken during the Hurricane Fiona made a big difference, she says.
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During a stormy visit to the archipelago on Sunday afternoon, she visited the La Grave historic site in Havre-Aubert, where a more than $7 million beach boost specifically helped protect historic buildings from the raging waves of Hurricane Fiona.
Hélène Fauteux / Agency QMI
“We came to see the extent of the damage and I think it could have been worse,” Ms Guilbault said. I think the community’s level of preparedness and intervention capacity with support from the partners was quite impressive. That means we have no injuries and no fatalities overall. It is important because our first concern is safety.”
However, the minister admits that there has also been damage, including on the La Grave site, where the flood on Saturday morning flooded the sector and flooded the buildings. The Ministry of Public Security will open an office in the archipelago this week to expedite processing of applications for victims, she said.
Hélène Fauteux / Agency QMI
“Our general program covers all uninsurable risks, mainly in the case of flooding,” said Geneviève Guilbault. We are already ready to support people in this process and it can be very quick.”
The Minister of Public Safety also points out that her government has a budget of US$6.7 billion under its green economy plan, of which US$1 billion is earmarked for climate change prevention and adaptation . To this end, the engineer of the Municipality of the Islands, Jean Hubert, foresees discussions for a group application of the owners of La Grave, in particular to place their buildings on piles.
Hélène Fauteux / Agency QMI
“Five of the 45 buildings in the area are already on stilts,” he said. It represents a significant cost, but once the buildings are on stilts – and there are more and more of them on the islands – the water comes in, goes under, the water goes away and it’s over. Because we will relive other episodes of hiding, like those caused by Fiona.
Richard Dupuis / Agency QMI
Jean Hubert used the visit of the Minister for Public Security to show her his influence on the ongoing work to stabilize the cliff in downtown Cap-aux-Meules. Hurricane Fiona had the effect of washing away some of the beach charge at a third of its stage. The result is a one-week, $166,000 delay in the expiration of the $12 million contract, which was scheduled to end in December.
“This is an example of what we have already been able to assess,” explained Geneviève Guilbault. However, it will still be a few months before an exhaustive assessment of all the damage and its costs can be made.