Future of Pierrefonds flood victim still in limbo, living in motel as anniversary looms

Vasiliki Petrisi has been living in a cramped Pointe-Claire motel room for 11 months, and while it doesn't have all the comforts of home, she's at least happy to have a roof over her head. 

For a few anxious days, Petrisi wasn't sure she'd have even that.

Earlier this week, she had been told she and her husband would have to vacate the motel where they'd been living since their home was damaged by flood waters.

The government told them they needed to be out by Saturday, but after being questioned about the case by media, Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux promised to look into the file.

Petrisi received a call not long after saying she could stay until the end of May.

Her Pierrefonds home was flooded beyond repair last spring and is slated for demolition.

She and her husband share a bed, a television, a bureau, a table, chair and a lamp. Their personal items — toiletries, legal documents, snacks — litter every available surface.

At the end of the next month, they will have spent an entire year living out of that space.

The 2017 spring floods forced thousands of people from their homes and caused severe property damage in several cities and towns. Petrisi and her husband are among 40 families still living a hotel room.

The couple got the green light to demolish their home last week, but there are still a number of bureaucratic hoops to jump through.

"I need to go to the city to apply for a permit for demolition, it might take a week or two to get it. And then I have to call the contractor to come demolish and he told me, from the day I call, two to three weeks."

"And after the government will give us the money, I don't know when."

To make matters worse, Petrisi doesn't know where they will end up once the house is demolished and the property sold. She says the money from the sale won't be enough to buy another home in the West Island.

Lessons learned

Coiteux announced Friday that the government was investing even more money into its flood response action plan, saying the total now reaches $90 million.

On top of compensation for flood victims, that money will also go toward prevention measures, working with municipalities to monitor water levels, improving communications and simplifying the compensation process.

"The current program was not adapted to a dramatic situation like this," said Coiteux. "We have been able to reach a point where 86 per cent of people affected have received 75 and 90 per cent of what they are allowed to receive."

He added that his objective in simplifying the reimbursement process is to come up with a system where claimants will see 85 per cent of what they are entitled within a month or 90 days.