Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

During the Oct. 1 Laval city council meeting, Mayor Stéphane Boyer said the administration was working on a report to be released in a few weeks on all the various causes for the devastating floods which assailed households in Laval on Aug. 9.

Floods on everyone’s mind

“There are a lot of questions – why my street, why not the next one – why some neighborhoods were affected much more than others,” said the mayor who was uncharacteristically brief in his opening remarks this month.

Mayor Boyer normally addresses more than one issue at least briefly at the beginning of city council meetings, but confined himself to the issue of the aftermath of the flooding this time. He said the expected report will include proposed interventions that would hopefully serve to minimize flood risks in the future.

On that note, Laval city councillor for Fabreville Claude Larochelle tabled a petition signed by nearly 1,600 Laval residents asking the city to launch an independent inquiry led by experts into the damage caused by Tropical Storm Debby in Laval.

Galati explains himself

Following recent media reports raising questions about Action Laval councillor for Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Paolo Galati’s research budget spending practices, he read out a statement at the council meeting, clarifying the situation.

“The last two weeks were difficult for me, my spouse and my two girls,” said Galati.

He said that after he reviewed expense reports submitted by other Laval city councillors to the city’s treasury department, he came to the conclusion that several other councillors – belonging to all political parties – had submitted expenses which should also come under scrutiny – in the same way as his.

He said the food products mentioned in the news reports as being among his purchases “were used exclusively during gatherings or meetings with citizens,” added Galati.

“Rest assured that I will continue to act in complete transparency in accordance with comments which might be formulated by the city’s treasurer. I thank you and hope that these clarifications help us to understand correctly the situation.”

Action Laval interim-leader Achille Cifelli tabled a motion during the council meeting, saying that an inquiry launched by the Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ), in response to the revelations about Galati’s expenses, should be enlarged to include all members of Laval city council.

“Our democratic institutions have already been harshly put to the test in the last few years and the level of participation in the last elections was historically low,” Cifelli said in a statement issued by Action Laval last Monday. “It is urgent that we re-establish the confidence of the population in their institutions,” he said.

Fears expressed for Lebanon

During a period for councillors’ statements, several members of city council, including Sainte-Dorothée councillor Ray Khalil, Saint-Martin councillor Aline Dib and Souvenir-Labelle councillor Sandra El-Helou, expressed their growing alarm and concerns about the war in the Middle East, during which Israel’s recent invasion of Lebanon is the latest chapter.

“I think of all the families who are crying, of those who have lost loved ones, who are sleeping in the streets and who have nothing to eat, and of those who are frightened and who are fighting for a better future,” said El-Helou.

“The strength of this great nation is a powerful testimony to the indomitable spirit of the Lebanese people, this people with an inspiring and moving endurance,” she continued. “Let us never forget that hope and aspirations are both acts of resistance.”

Tropical Storm Debby

During the public question period, a resident asked Mayor Boyer whether he could confirm whether all sewer pumping stations throughout Laval are equipped with emergency power generators in case the regular hydro power fails.

The mayor acknowledged that during Tropical Storm Debby, some sewer pumping stations lost power, but that the city is now in the process of analyzing why that happened and what can be done to prevent a recurrence.

Another resident, from Vimont, complained that since Tropical Storm Debby, she can no longer get insurance coverage, while adding that she considers delays by the city to install sewer pumps on nearby streets to be unacceptable.

Acute weather anxieties

“What you need to understand is that for us, the situation is unbearable,” she said.

“Each time the weather forecast is for rain, we become anxious, and now even more so, knowing that we are not or almost not insured. I say that again: I am no longer insurable. You must understand that I am trying to make you understand that the postponements for your works are completely unacceptable.

“You absolutely must do these works before,” she continued. “What is being done on our side to avoid the floods which will evidently be coming back before your work? And I repeat, this isn’t just about [Tropical Storm] Debby: it’s with all the major rainfalls that water is accumulating in the street.”