Trudeau visits storm-damaged Quebec islands, promises aid for region

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government will partner with Quebec to help people affected by the storm, which brought hurricane-force winds.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Quebec‘s Iles-de-la-Madeleine Thursday, promising federal support for the archipelago hammered by post-tropical storm Fiona last weekend.

Trudeau met with acting mayor Gaetan Richard and with fishers, seniors and small business owners. The federal government, Trudeau said, will partner with Quebec to help people affected by the storm, which made landfall Saturday and brought hurricane-force winds.

“We have investments to make and we are going to be partners with Quebec,” he promised without announcing anything specific.

Accompanied by National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier, who represents the region in Parliament, Trudeau said Canada needs to better adapt its infrastructure to the changing climate, which is increasing the likelihood of devastating storms.

“The reality is that we are going to see more and more intense storms in the years to come. We will have to adapt our infrastructures,” he told reporters by the water’s edge in Havre-Aubert, Que.

While Ottawa has dispatched hundreds of Canadian Armed Forces members to the Atlantic region to help with the cleanup from Fiona, officials in Iles-de-la-Madeleine made no request for assistance. Defence Minister Anita Anand, however, said the military stands ready to intervene if necessary.

Last weekend, Fiona hit the islands with winds of more than 120 kilometres per hour, damaging roads, roofs and shorelines and flooding buildings.

Trudeau acknowledged it was a close call for fishers at the Pointe-Basse wharf, where many boats remained docked during the storm because a defective crane prevented them from being removed from the water.