Legault visited Laval's Ile Bigras, where soldiers from the Canadian Armed Forces were busy stacking sandbags up a barrier along the shore's edge as the already-swollen river threatened to further spills its banks.
"We have to adjust our programs to rapidly compensate people who have cleanup, renovations to do," he told reporters. "But we have to be clearheaded, and if its necessary to force people to move, we'll do it." Near the entrance to the island on the southwest edge of Laval, several roads were closed due to flooding and one home appeared partially surrounded by water as small waves lapped at a picnic bench and a "For Sale" sign on the lawn.
Since the 2017 floods, the couple has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on major renovations, including raising the entire home and building a waterproof basement."It's discouraging, hard on the morale, hard on the family," said Girard. "Do we rebuild, do we let it go? We have to look to the future."
About 200 soldiers started filling sandbags and carrying out evacuations in Quebec's Outaouais and Mauricie regions overnight, and by Sunday afternoon about 600 were on the job across the province. Five major floods were identified as threatening thousands of Quebecers, and so far one death has been blamed on the high water.