Mr. Chair, members of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, thank you for having me.

Located in Montérégie, in the Pierre-De Saurel RCM and the federal riding of Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, the city of Saint-Ours covers more than 58 square kilometres and has 1,782 residents.

Between 1844 and 1849, the construction of a dam and locks on the Richelieu River helped connect Montreal and New York. The Saint-Ours Canal completed the Richelieu seaway and Saint-Ours became a very important community for the federal government, which created the Saint-Ours Canal National Historic Site, under the responsibility of Parks Canada.

My remarks today will focus on three areas: investing in heat island reduction and water management; funding and supporting programs to protect riverbanks for individuals and businesses; and, above all, supporting the creation of a road link between Saint-Ours and Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu.

In some regions of Canada, temperature increases and changes in rainfall distribution are being predicted that could have an impact on the natural environment by increasing the intensity or frequency of certain phenomena, such as floods or landslides. The effects of climate change will also affect the built environment and communities.

Local and regional municipalities are aware of the challenge they are facing with respect to future climate change. This green transition requires the political, technical, financial and material support of provincial and federal governments.

Existing infrastructure is not adapted to climate change. Therefore, adaptations are necessary to minimize sewage backups, overflows, which affect water quality, and flooding. However, the costs of this new reality far exceed the planned budget.

Our first recommendation is to invest in green programs for municipalities and improve grant programs for asset maintenance, promote the management of municipal assets and support municipalities in dealing with climate change.

Over the years, the erosion of certain portions of river slopes has resulted in shoulder washouts. For example, the Quebec department of transport believes that these washouts threaten the integrity of the infrastructure, which can have an impact on user safety, ride comfort and travel fluidity.

Across the entire area of the banks of the Richelieu River, it is suspected that the main causes of shoreline erosion are the speed of the current, waves created by the wind and especially waves generated by ships, or ice movement.

In addition to harming the aquatic environment, the erosion of the banks of the Richelieu River threatens the integrity of routes 133 and 223. In some places, road washouts and sinkholes have already forced the Quebec department of transport to carry out emergency stabilization work. In Saint-Ours alone, in recent years, more than six landslides at various sites have been recorded, including one that has been affecting Route 133 since December 2021.

Experts have said that, in order to counter shoreline erosion, governments must help all the people living along the shore in their efforts to stabilize the banks and stop the harmful effects on flora and aquatic fauna, as well as major geomorphological changes in some waterways.

So our second recommendation is to establish an annual financial assistance fund for waterfront owners, individuals, but also businesses, in order to prevent disasters, to assist people living along the shore in the recovery of shorelines, and to improve water quality by stabilizing shorelines and slowing erosion caused by multiple factors.

Photographs from 1850 show that there have always been ice bridges connecting the two banks of the Richelieu River. Until recently, thanks to ice bridges, motorists did not have to use highways 20 and 30. The route was reduced to 1.2 kilometres, instead of the 35 kilometres to be travelled by Highway 30. Unfortunately, climate change has increased the number of frost and thaw cycles and the temperature of the water. For the last three or four years, ice bridges have not been an option, for obvious safety reasons. We are seeing that the river is no longer freezing. So we have to respond to this new reality.

Since 1982, the City of Saint-Ours has been proposing the construction of a bridge that would enable vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists to cross at Darvard Island, which comes under federal responsibility. This project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by motorists for the benefit of neighbouring municipalities in three RCMs. This bridge, which could be used by the local population—more than 15,000 people—would help limit travel and ease traffic.

The municipalities involved have been in favour of this project for a very long time, the two RCMs directly affected have also been in favour of it, and the members of the provincial government have the same opinion. As for the federal government, it has not expressed any opposition, nor has it given its support going forward.

We have a third recommendation. Since the Richelieu River is under federal jurisdiction and since the most strategic location for a bridge belongs to the Government of Canada, we recommend that the government support the cities in an opportunity and feasibility study.

In conclusion, municipalities want not only to adapt to climate change, but also to be part of the solution. To that end, they must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by doing things like improving public and active transit systems, promoting the use of electric cars and, above all, equipping themselves to minimize their environmental footprint.

Thank you.

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