Storm: elected officials from northern NB want help

The government is aware of the dangers, but “the answers are not coming quickly enough,” according to elected officials.

The mayor of the municipality of Shippagan, Kassim Doumbia, notes the damage at Le Goulet beach.

Radio-Canada< p class="text-medium leading-6 text-gray600 light:text-gray600 dark:text-gray400">Speech synthesis, based on artificial intelligence, makes it possible to generate spoken text from written text.

In the aftermath of a storm that caused damage in the Acadian Peninsula and the Restigouche, mayors of northern New Brunswick are renewing their appeals to the government.

Faced with coastal erosion, which gets worse with each storm, the mayor of Shippagan says his hands are sometimes tied.

Since January 2023 when we took office, we have been trying with the [municipal] council to lift the ministerial decree which was imposed on the community of Le Goulet, so that we can undertake certain work to restore the dunes and protect the coastline, explained Kassim Doumbia.

In an interview with Téléjournal Acadie, Thursday, he mentioned that he was calling on the minister directly to intervene and allow us to take the necessary actions in the territory.

The Ministry of the Environment also, they are aware, but I think the answers are not coming quickly enough.

A quote from Kassim Doumbia , mayor of Shippagan

Open in full screen mode

Erosion caused by Wednesday's storm in Sainte-Marie-Saint-Raphaël in Lamèque in the Acadian Peninsula .

The issue of erosion has been underestimated by governments, believes Bernard Savoie, the mayor of Île-de-Lamèque.< /p>LoadingThe controversial Doc Mailloux is dead

The controversial Doc Mailloux is dead

ELSE ON NEWS: The controversial Doc Mailloux is dead

L The water is getting closer and closer to the houses. Residents are worried. He wants government programs to be created to help these people.

Open in full screen mode

Bernard Savoie, mayor of Île-de-Lamèque, Thursday.

All along the coast, we have several families in their homes who lose 10, 15 feet in each storm, says Mr. Savoie.

We will have to move things forward. Not only talking about it, but we should start acting, because otherwise there are some who will lose their homes.

A quote from Bernard Savoie, mayor of Île-de-Lamèque

In the Restigouche, erosion also threatens homes, says Normand Pelletier, mayor of Baie-des-Hérons.

The community of Charlo, in particular, is put to the test. Wednesday's storm flooded a road and swept away a structure.

Open in full screen mode

This structure was moved by the current in Charlo, in the municipality of Baie-des-Hérons.

Baie-des-Hérons has 45 kilometers of coastline and the mayor promises that the issue will be on the agenda for the municipal council meeting next Monday.

The mayor says he has already approached experts on the issue to examine the best options, before knocking on the doors of the federal and provincial governments, if they can help us in one way or another on the point of view financing.

Open in full screen mode

The mayor of Baie-des-Hérons, Normand Pelletier, noted the damage caused by the storm in Charlo on Thursday.

In Shippagan, Mayor Kassim Doumbia noted that teams from the New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure were on the ground Thursday to assess the damage in the city .

Now he would like things to change at the higher levels.

I know the officials are aware. They are doing the best they can, but I think that the minister should also be questioned in this matter and come to the field, see for himself the damage of this erosion, he continues. That the government can put in place programs that will allow us to provide solutions.

After observing the damage on Wednesday, Eda Roussel, municipal councilor in Shippagan, added her voice to that of the mayor.

I would tell the Minister of the Environment that regions like the Acadian Peninsula need help. We need support to be able to protect our villages from these bad weather conditions. I think there are solutions to protect and we need them, she said.

Open in full screen mode

Rocks littered the access path leading to the Le Goulet quay, after Wednesday's storm.

In an email to Radio-Canada on Thursday, Clarissa Andersen, a spokesperson for the New Brunswick government, indicated that 55% of the province's municipalities had completed their climate change adaptation plans, and that funding is available through the Environmental Trust Fund.

We know that storms are increasing in intensity, and the Department of Environment and Local Government continue to work with communities to take action to address the impacts of climate change and build resilience , wrote the provincial spokesperson.

Open in full screen mode

Significant damage was visible Thursday along the coast at Cap-Bateau, on Lamèque Island.

< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">Eric Mallet, the Liberal MP for Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou, suggests that the government take inspiration from emergency protocols for flooding, which are even activated preventively.

It is public security that must […] ensure that people are safe. Yesterday (Wednesday), it was total panic, he said.

Despite this panic among elected officials in the sectors affected by bad weather the day before, the Ministry of Public Safety was not available to comment on this idea on Thursday.

Open in full screen mode

Réjean Savoie is MP for Baie-de-Miramichi—Neguac and Minister of Regional Development Corporation. (Archive photo)

The government instead referred us to the member for Baie-de-Miramichi—Neguac and Minister of the Regional Development Corporation, Réjean Savoie, who says that we must ask the question to the ministry concerned.

The dangers are always increasing when it comes to settling near watercourses, underlined M .Savoie. He believes that fewer people should settle in dangerous or risky areas.

In the meantime, the MP encourages the public to follow the alerts from Environment Canada, which are adequate, he says, and to have an emergency kit at home. In every storm, we should be ready, we should have personal emergency measures, he said.

According to information from Karine Godin and Alix Villeneuve