Montrealers are fuming after they say the City of Montreal abandoned them during the intense Quebec flooding.
Pierrefonds-Roxboro resident Alain Furlano was fed up of waiting on the city to fix a leaking dike, he and a few others got sand bags and decided to build a barrier themselves.
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But officials told Furlano he’s not allowed to do that and he took him away in handcuffs.
He lives on 5e Avenue, off Gouin Ouest, and before his arrest he told Global News the flooding on his street could have been prevented.
“It could have been avoided,” he said.
“That’s the problem. It should have been avoided.”
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Residents in hard-hit regions like Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Sainte-Geneviève, in Montreal’s West Island, told Global News they called city officials on Wednesday after they noticed water levels were rising to a hazardous level.
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Resident Martin Boisvert said first responders didn’t arrive until Saturday – when the worst of the flooding was already well underway.
“The city sacrificed us,” he said.
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Boisvert said his street reaches up to Gouin Boulevard West, about five blocks from the Rivière-des-Prairies.
“We had no help from the city at all in the beginning hours of this to deliver us sandbags, to deliver out plastic, to make any worthwhile assistance,” he said.
“People, neighbours here, are the only ones that have helped each other.”
Tuesday, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre urged the public to be patient.
“”I can understand the frustration of the people because they’ve been living the trauma, OK?” said Coderre.
“No rock has not been turned. Everybody’s been doing their job.”
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One of the first public information sessions is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.