Quebec is losing ground: they could lose thousands of dollars

Photo Magalie Lapointe
Dominique Feuiltault and his spouse Marie-Ève Leblond in front of the security perimeter surrounding their home on rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste, in Montérégie.

Magalie Lapointe

Saturday, 16 December, 2017 01:00

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Saturday, 16 December, 2017 01:00

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SAINT-ROCH-DE-RICHELIEU, A couple who has been a victim of a landslide will lose tens of thousands of dollars without knowing if the government will reimburse the moving of his house.

The life of Dominique Feuiltault and Marie-Eve Leblond has switched over to November 12, when a landslide has failed to take residence in Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu.

Two weeks later, they decided to undertake the work to move out of their house before it collapses. And this, without even having received the agreement of the public Safety.

Of the dream to the nightmare

The government may even decide not to indemnify if the property owners do not follow the steps of the general program of financial assistance to the disaster victims, according to Jean-Sébastien Forest, of the public Safety. But for the residents, save the house has become more important than the rest.

Photo courtesy

For nearly a week, the ground continued to crumble until you reach the gallery.

A few years ago, they realized their dream to purchase a residence at the edge of the Richelieu river, but they were far from suspecting that it would become a nightmare.

Mr. Feuiltault, who is a firefighter, part-time, was convinced that the residence was without risk, as it is located more than 150 feet from the shore.

But an evil fate has willed that the landslide occurs just behind their residence.

What happened to them can happen for a large number of residents of Quebec.

Since then, they have lived with the mother of Mr. Feuiltault then, seeing that the process would surely be long, they decided to rent a house. In addition to the rent, they must continue to pay the mortgage for the residence is uninhabited.

The insurance does not pay for this type of claim since it is a natural disaster.

The 8th of December last, the ministry of public Security has announced that no advances of funds could not be conducted on the work already done (moving the furniture, pruning of five trees, demolition of the basement). And, even if the MTQ has written in his report that the relocation of the house on their plot of land would probably be the least expensive solution.

With a property valued at the $ 376,000, the financial loss is colossal and difficult to swallow for the couple.

A new structure of concrete and the movement of their remains are planned over the next few days even if the owners have to advance the money.

He doesn’t care

“The government cares about how much it costs me and how much I’m in debt. However, it is able to send experts, engineers, geologists. It is not serious, for example “, launched the claim.

Despite the responses of the government, the couple feels very much alone to face this ordeal.

“Person of public Security or the government has asked us how we were going. Nobody told us : here’s what you need to do, where you have to call, who can help you. Why there is not a designated person who asks questions to find out if the victims need help, if they have a family to help, if they get cold, ” asked Mr. Feuiltault.