After recent flooding, the government of Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac is putting out an online survey for residents, inquiring if they intend to stay or leave, the level that floodwaters have reached within their houses, and whether they are currently residing within them.
In late April, a dike near a mobile home park failed, flooding many homes almost instantly.
Nearly 60 houses are now awaiting demolition as a result.
One problem highlighted by residents like Michelle Ellison is that some of the park’s inhabitants “feel caught in the middle,” she told Global News.
“Is it easier to say ‘I’m leaving’ and then they give you the money, that’s it and that’s all, or is it easier to say ‘I’m staying’ and then fix the house?” she said.
In addition to having to meet compensation plans from the province, residents of the park also have an additional issue: they own their buildings but rent the land.
READ MORE: Canadian Red Cross distributing $6.5M to help Quebec flood victims
Ellison has created an ad hoc committee in an effort to give residents somewhere to go to look for help. Most — if not all — of the leases run to June 2020.
According to Serge Langlois, a spokesperson for the company that rents the land, demolition efforts must be undertaken by a special contractor who won’t damage the terrain upon which the homes are built, and that the cost of demolishing one of them is around $10,000.
Ellison, however, said many residents are frustrated by the time that such special demolitions may take in the future, which would also put off their compensation payments from the province.
WATCH: (April 29, 2019) Quebec flooding: Heartbreak in Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac