This article written in french by Stéphane St-Amour was automatically translated using AI.
During the city council meeting on Tuesday, Mayor Stéphane Boyer did not hide the truth while responding to the many affected citizens who came to question the elected officials, a month after the historic floods of August 9.
Visibly moved by the human tragedies and psychological distress caused by Debby’s passage through the area, Mr. Boyer was “clear and transparent” about the approximately 5,000 citizen claims the City received within 15 days of the event.
“To be quite honest, I believe most of them will be rejected,” he said, immediately clarifying that municipalities cannot be held responsible for the damage caused by a natural disaster.
He also reminded everyone that the deluge had dumped 170 millimeters of rain on Laval in 24 hours, with 70 mm falling in just two hours during the evening of August 9.
“No city was ever built to handle that much water,” the mayor emphasized, adding that in Quebec, sewer systems are designed to absorb and process a daily amount of 70 mm of rain, which typically represents a month’s worth of precipitation.
Special Cases
“That said, I know there are special cases,” continued Stéphane Boyer, citing Fred-Barry Street in Domaine Renaud, which was already flooded by 8 a.m. on August 9.
Earlier, Fadwa Aziz, whose parents live on that street, and Dominique Gratton had spoken up to point out that during the deluge, a major construction project involving the replacement of underground infrastructure was underway on Fred-Barry Street.
Furthermore, citizens who experienced flooding on August 9 and who repeatedly face sewer backup issues are also considered part of these “special cases” referred to by the mayor, whose claims will undergo a thorough analysis.
Regarding this, Mr. Boyer urged affected residents to be patient, given the large number of requests to process.
