Feds to cover military cost of flood relief
MONTREAL— As water levels in Quebec showed signs of dropping slightly Tuesday, authorities urged people to be patient and warned the situation will not return to normal for several weeks.
“The situation won’t improve overnight,” Quebec Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux said. “It will happen on a very gradual basis. We have major flooding in several areas and, gradually, the floods will become average and then minor.”
Coiteux cautioned that Quebecers must be realistic and realize things will not return to normal until at least late this month or early June.
Meanwhile, the number of soldiers helping municipal and provincial officials in flood-battered parts of the province rose to 1,730 from 1,650, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said in Ottawa.
Earlier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government will pay for military-related costs.
“When Canadians are facing natural disasters or serious issues, we pull together, that’s who we are,” Trudeau said. “Quebec and Ontario asked for military support and we’re happy to give it and, of course, the federal government will assume all the costs related to support for Quebec and Ontario in these floods.”
As of Tuesday, heavy rains and melting snowpack had resulted in 2,733 flooded residences in Quebec and forced the evacuation of 1,940 people in 171 municipalities.
The floods claimed at least one life in the province — Mike Gagnon, 37, whose car ended up in the surging Ste-Anne River in the eastern Gaspé region. Police were still searching Tuesday for a 2-year-old girl who disappeared with him.
Premier Philippe Couillard said he understands the frustration many people are feeling.
“First, I want to tell people affected by the floods . . . that it’s very, very terrible,” he said.
“I can understand the anxiety, the angst people feel right now. I would feel the same, even some anger, if it were my home being affected the way I’ve seen certain homes being affected.”
Couillard also reiterated his call for Quebecers to donate money to help flood victims, adding he personally donated money on Tuesday morning. Goodale said the federal government was expected to announce, through Trudeau, it will contribute $1 million to a Canadian Red Cross fund. That would follow in the footsteps of Quebec, which put up $500,000 and the City of Montreal, which is expected to kick in $250,000 on Wednesday.
“Providing relief and recovering from the aftermath of this disaster is going to be a long-term proposition,” Goodale said.
Quebec’s national assembly did not sit Tuesday so that members could stay in their respective ridings an extra day, while Montreal’s agglomeration council voted to extend the state of emergency in the area by five days.