Magdalen Islands officials asking for $80 million from the province to fight coastal erosion

Elected officials representing the Magdalen Islands say they need more funding to fight bank erosion, especially considering the worsening impact of storms on the islands' coastlines.

MNA Joël Arseneau and Magdalen Islands Mayor Jonathan Lapierre are asking the provincial government to earmark $80 million in the next budget to help protect the banks of the archipelago.

The officials issued a joint memo Friday to Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard, asking that he allot $8 million annually over the next decade to help protect the Magdalen Islands coastline, specifically areas that may not fit government subsidy criteria.

"There needs to be action that is planned and purposeful, and with a substantial budget," Arseneau said. "With 2020 being the year of the environment for the CAQ, I believe the government should intervene."

The MNA said he thinks the funding could lead to projects that would become an example for the rest of the province on how to tackle erosion.

"There is currently a program with $45 million for the whole of Quebec," Lapierre said. "We have two projects that have received funding, but it is a generic program that, with each incident, requires a considerable contribution from the community."

The joint memo by Arseneau and Lapierre bases its requests on several studies on bank erosion on the Magdalen Islands, notably by the research chair on coastal geoscience from the Université du Quebec à Rimouski.

Research by the chair shows the Magdalen Islands banks receded by 50 centimetres annually from 2004-16, and 60 centimetres from 2016-17.

"The Communauté Maritime created a permanent commission to tackle bank erosion and has partnered with experts — research chairs and universities that have observed and documented erosion — over the last decade," Lapierre said.

The provincial government will unveil its budget in March.