On Tuesday, the provincial Ministry of Public Security held two public meetings at l’École secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge for residents affected by this spring's flooding. The purpose of the meeting was to answer resident's questions regarding the MSP's financial assistance program for residents whose primary residences had been damaged. Attendees were able to create appointments to meet with representatives to open a file the following day. Mansfield-et-Pontefract Mayor Sandra Armstrong, who had personal experience with the process, having lost her home in the 2019 floods, explained that some things have changed since she went through the process. She said that around 15 people came to the meetings on Tuesday from a variety of municipalities.

Armstrong said that she told the MSP representatives that she didn't want a repeat of the process that happened in years previous. Following the 2017 and 2019 floods, many applicants reported lengthy delays in  receiving assistance, frequently lost documents and other bureaucratic headaches in their dealings with the MSP.

She added that the MRC had passed a resolution at their meeting earlier this month requesting an inquiry into how floods can be mitigated in the future. Armstrong said that it was now her and her colleagues around the table to advocate to higher levels of government on behalf of their constituents.

The full interview with Armstrong is available below: