A translation by Judith Turcotte.
A new cartography of the flood zones will be published in March 2026 by the Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP). This new cartography became necessary due to the frequency of torrential rain brought about by climate change. In the past, there existed flood zones defined by the flood probabilities; 0–20 years. The cartography’s new generation will include four possibilities, ranging from low to very high and will include de 20–100 years probabilities. Thousands of residences that had been flooded in 2017 and in 2019 will now be found in the new flood zones.
Some years ago, I had acquired a residence on the banks of the Richelieu River. Each spring I worried about the possibility of experiencing a flood. Before purchasing, I had checked and the residence was not located in a flood zone. However, on a beautiful spring day, there was a flood. I still see myself, discouraged, sitting in the stairway leading to the basement, watching the water slowly rise. Fortunately, the flood was only a few inches high but enough to convince me to move.
We could think that the disclosure of this new cartography would be anticipated with much interest but this is not the case. I recently read an article in the magazine, Actualité, that 45% of Quebecers who live in a flood zone today are not really aware. Floods, however, are the most devastating natural disasters hence the importance of properly communicating these new zones to the public. Some of the mayors of the municipalities affected are not happy with these zones that include thousands of residences now exposed to flood risks. A city councillor even dares to claim that the municipalities could very well have adopted the by-laws. It is difficult to understand this logic; the municipalities do not have the competence to identify flood zones especially since they own part of the blame for having issued construction permits in flood zones in the past.
This expansion of the flood zones has consequences for the residents who now find themselves in the new zones. One needs only to think of the decrease in home prices, difficulties in resale and the impossibility of obtaining insurance. We cannot abandon these residents who are undergoing great financial risk because of the effects of climate change. The municipal, provincial and federal governments must establish a compensation program for the financial losses and assist the municipal authorities with a program to have these residences removed from the zones at risk. As an expert once said: in this file, the decision makers must realize that the past is no longer a guarantee of the future.
I was going to write that this situation, due to the climate crisis, was not anyone’s fault. I change my mind; it’s precisely everyone’s fault.