Flood post-mortem will be thorough and objective, says Pierrefonds-Roxboro mayor

The mayor of Pierrefonds-Roxboro says a planned post-mortem of the Montreal borough's response to major flooding last month will be thorough and objective.

Jim Beis discussed theborough's planned review with CBC Montreal's Daybreak Tuesday on the heels of a tense borough council meeting.

Flood-affected residents packed the borough hall Monday evening to voice their frustration with the preparations for the flooding, and the boroughs'response as the floodwaters rose.

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"When we go through our post-mortem, all aspects of the crisis will be analyzed, whether it be the weather and the river patterns, the work, the steps that were taken in each of the sectors that were targeted we're going to look at all that," he said.

Focus on operations, solutions

Operations are a key focus of the review and will involve local civil security and fire department officials and police, Beis said.

"Were there areas that could have been done differently, all that will come in the aftermath and be looked at," he said.

The review will also consider the province's response, he said.

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When asked how he plans to ensure the objectivity of the post-mortem, Beis said involving affected residents in the process will help provide balance.

"It's important that the residents express their opinions, as well, and let us know their perspective in terms of how things went in their areas during this crisis," he said.

"It's important to understand what they were going through and they're still going through this crisis and have many months ahead of them."

The post-mortem will also focus on identifying long-term solutions, especially if flooding becomes more regular.

"Should this occur more often and not every 70 to 100 years, if it happens every 10 to 15 years, we're going to have to look at infrastructure and trying to secure these areas so they aren't hit the way they were this year,"Beissaid.

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