A few dozen citizens in Saint-Leonard descended on their borough hall Monday to give the mayor a piece of their minds.
They were furious after flash floods, caused by a brief but powerful storm, damaged several homes in their neighbourhood on Sunday. Residents say for decades, every time it rains hard, the sewers in the area get overwhelmed and water pours into homes.
“Every time it rains, you’re stressed out because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Saint-Leonard resident Giovanna Costantino.
“You start hearing the toilets bubbling, you’re freaking out. We got flooded again from the sewers, coming out of my sink, washing machine, the drains in the garage.”
Claiming the issue has been raised multiple times and no action has been taken, the frustrated residents demanded answers from the mayor.
“You do nothing for us!” Pat Monaco yelled at the mayor during an impromptu meeting.
Monaco lives on De Belmont street. His home, he says, filled with two feet of water during the flood, causing major damage and leaving behind a trail of filth.
Monaco had hoped to mobilize a few citizens to go to the borough, but so many people showed up that the city had to take over a room in the local library.
“It’s been 46 years this has been going on,” Monaco said.
Mayor Michel Bissonnet, councillor Lili-Anne Tremblay and other officials faced angry citizens for about two hours. People demanded to know why the pipes have not been upgraded, even though the issue has been well-documented. Officials had to try to calm people down and ask them to speak one at a time on multiple occasions.
“I’m happy we had this meeting, because they have a big problem since many years,” said Bissonnet, who banged his fists on a table multiple times during the meeting to try to regain order.
“We want a plan of action,” Costantino yelled at Bissonnet during the meeting.
He told citizens that the borough was looking into the issue, but the residents were not impressed.
“I don’t believe any of you,” Monaco yelled at the officials.
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When the mayor said the problems with the sewers and pipes are the responsibility of the city of Montreal, and not the borough, citizens yelled and jeered.
“We’re discussing with the Service de l’eau for six or eight years. We’re requesting the Service de l’eau check everything in that area because there’s a problem,” Bissonnet told Global News.
After years of floods, residents have run out of patience.
“I don’t know what our people are doing in Saint-Leonard,” said Santangeli. “Are they just people who are like, powerless? Is that what we’ve become in Saint-Leonard? They have to wait for Montreal to decide?”
Bissonet said he is planning a meeting between residents and the city of Montreal’s water department, and that Mayor Plante would be invited too.
“You can’t just take the problem, send it to another one and say we’re going to have a meeting,” said Costantino. “When they get back to us, I don’t want it to be more blah blah blah talking, I want action.”
Youssef Amane, a spokesperson for Plante, told Global News the city will be in touch with Saint-Leonard to evaluate and fix the situation.