"An investigation is needed to identify the shortcomings of our critical systems and equipment. From
massive and urgent investments are required to better respond to and withstand climatic events".
- Claude Larochelle, Interim Leader of Parti Laval
Laval, Wednesday, August 21, 2024 - In the wake of the record-breaking floods experienced by the people of Laval on August 9
Claude Larochelle and Louise Lortie, Fabreville councillor and Marc-Aurèle-Fortin councillor respectively, would like to express their deepest solidarity with the citizens affected by this disaster, which has left a lasting imprint on their lives.
demonstrates, in their view, the need to investigate municipal resilience: "this is an unprecedented crisis and
our hearts go out to the citizens affected," say the two elected officials. Well aware of the
However, the opposition questions the robustness of the equipment and systems,
and the city's response to the situation. "Many citizens have told us how difficult it is to reach them.
emergency services such as 311 and 911, and we find this very worrying. In critical situations, we
must be able to react! We know there were a number of failures during the floods, and this raises a number of questions.
questions! How is it that Quebec's third-largest city can't respond to its citizens' needs and that
are our infrastructures so poorly adapted? We need an inquiry to get to the bottom of this," says Claude.
Larochelle, interim leader of Parti Laval.
Known and recognized disabilities
In response to these concerns, Mr Larochelle and Ms Lortie point out that the inability of infrastructures
We've been aware of Laval's problems for a long time. "For more than 10 years, the Boyer-Demers administration has been repeating that we need to invest more than 100M$ in our overflow structures to meet the challenges related to
climate change. And yet, before this year, it was all very well to look at the Three-Year Investment Plan,
everything we saw was clearly insufficient, while the administration prioritized its political agenda:
aquatic complex, intelligent parking, large library and so on. This raises some serious
priority issues," laments Mr. Larochelle. Larochelle. Moreover, in 2021, the Fondation Rivières denounced
in a hard-hitting report that Laval was one of the worst municipalities in terms of overflow: "We know that.
for a long time, as has the Boyer administration. Our infrastructures require urgent investment and
massive. We're talking about 500 to 600 M$ just to be up to date and avoid the worst," adds the municipal councillor from
Fabreville.
A survey to strengthen Laval's resilience
While Laval is still recovering from the nearly 175mm of water that fell on its territory, marking a situation
which resulted in the loss of more than 10,000 lives, Parti Laval is looking forward to working with all
stakeholders to ensure that the municipality has all the necessary resources and infrastructure in place
to meet the challenges of climate change. "Our telephone systems, computer systems, station generators
pumping stations and other critical equipment must be in good working order and capable of taking over
during power failures or excess demand. These systems need to be robust and efficient in time.
crisis. This was not the case. We now find ourselves with major damage, worried citizens and
unanswered questions," says Louise Lortie. Faced with this situation, Parti Laval is calling for
deadlines, an exhaustive survey to assess the resilience of the city's critical infrastructures and systems.
"We need to identify the weaknesses in our equipment, systems and infrastructure so that we can better anticipate and manage future problems.
future crises. What did we do wrong? What can we do to be better prepared and limit the risks?
damage? Once citizens have received the help they need, we urgently need to investigate," adds Mr. Béziers.
Larochelle, who maintains that such a survey would make it possible to target the actions needed, as well as the
investments, to improve the city's response and resilience, guarantee the safety of all citizens and
minimize the impact of crisis situations.
Source: Responsable des communications - Cabinet de l'opposition officielle de Ville de Laval
Information: Tommy Vallée │438 875 8663 │t.vallee@laval.ca