Latest news with #BenoitCharette
CTV News
19-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Here are questions to ask before buying a home potentially in a flood zone
Nathalie Bégin, Chair of the QPAREB's Brokerage Practice Committee, advises potential home buyers on how to avoid or prepare for flood zones. Check both maps, call insurance companies and banks, and talk to neighbours. It's advice that potential Quebec home buyers should follow before purchasing a property that may be in a flood zone. 'Ask questions,' said Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) spokesperson Nathalie Bégin, who was speaking after Quebec announced a new regulatory framework for determining flood zones in the province. Play Flood zones: Quebec adopts new regulatory framework The Quebec government has announced the adoption of a modernized regulatory framework for flood zones. She said that realtors are asking more questions of sellers and doing more research before selling and the association hopes that the new framework will correct errors in flood maps that many feel are inaccurate. Bégin said the QPAREB is happy that the province has reduced the number of residences located in flood zones from around 77,000 to around 35,000 and that future maps will include four risk levels from low to very high with an added zone for homes located behind a flood protection structure such as a dike or retaining wall. Environment Minister Benoit Charette said most homes soon to be in flood zones will fall under low or moderate risks. Montreal Flooding L'ile-Bizard–Sainte-Genevieve's borough of Montreal have sandbagged and installed large water pumps along the shore of the Ottawa river in anticipation of rising water with an expected overnight rainfall of 50 millimetres of rain expected from Sunday evening into Monday, on Sunday, April 30, 2023. (Peter McCabe/The Canadian Press) New flood zone maps should be released in March 2026, so Bégin said buyers should ask questions about the current maps (one from Quebec and an unofficial flood zone map) before signing any papers. Over the next year, Bégin said, municipalities and residents can improve infrastructure. Thus, houses currently in flood zones may be in another risk category when the new map is out. 'Talk to the municipality to see if the house is in a risky zone. Are they going to do something about it?' she said. 'Are they going to correct [it] because they have until March 2026, to make some recommendations to the government to put on the new map. It's a lot of questions before making the decision to say, 'Go, we're going to buy.' The brokers association is pleased that Quebec recognizes that homeowners and municipalities are adapting their surroundings to possible flooding. 'We are encouraged to see that our proposals have been taken into consideration. The recognition of protective structures is an important step forward, both for the citizens concerned and for the transparency of the real estate market,' said Bégin. Rigaud Flooding Homes along the Ottawa river in the town of Rigaud, Que., just west of the island of Montreal, are on high alert with a total of 30 to 50 millimeter's of rain expected from Sunday evening into Monday. Homes are already threatened by high water levels along the river on Sunday, April 30, 2023. (Peter McCabe/The Canadian Press) Flooding in 2017 and 2019 caused an estimated $1 billion in damages, and major flooding in 2024 caused damage to homes throughout the Island of Montreal and the surrounding region. The association would like the technical committee to do the following: Ensure clear communication to citizens about the changes underway. Promote transparent disclosure of financial institutions' and insurers' policies regarding flood zones. Bégin said demand for property continues even in flood zones, so realtors now have to evaluate risk with the buyers. 'Every buyer who's coming, it's individual research to evaluate if insurance is going to be able [to sell], the mortgage is going to be able, and everything,' she said. That's why it's very important to work now with a real estate agent because there's so much we have to go and check before we say, go."
Global News
13-06-2025
- Climate
- Global News
Some 30 per cent more Quebec homes to be in flood zones when new mapping takes effect
Quebec's environment minister says about 30 per cent more homes could be located in flood zones when new maps come into effect next year. Benoit Charette says the number of homes in the province's new flood prevention framework will likely increase to 35,000 from about 25,000. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Quebec estimated last year that 77,000 homes could be in flood zones, but that number has since been downgraded. The new maps have not been published and the new framework only comes into effect in 2026. Next year, the Quebec government will identify flood risks on a categorical scale — low, moderate, high and very high. The existing system identifies risk based on the probability that a certain level of flooding will happen in any given year.
CBC
12-06-2025
- Climate
- CBC
New mapping to increase Quebec homes in flood zones by about 30%
The number of Quebec homes located in flood zones will likely increase by 30 per cent when new maps are introduced next year, the province's environment minister said Thursday. At a news conference on Quebec's new guidelines to manage flooding, Benoit Charette said the government's goal is to protect people and their properties, and to make sure residents understand the risk they're exposed to. The number of homes in flood zones, he said, should rise to 35,000 from about 25,000. "We want to make sure people have the right information about where they live," he said. "Today that's not the case because many of these [maps] are as old as 30 years, so they're not up to date." The new maps have not been published and the new framework only comes into effect in March 2026. Charette said that as of next year, the province will begin identifying flood risks on a categorical scale — low, moderate, high and very high. The existing system identifies risk on the probability that a certain level of flooding will happen in any given year. For instance, some areas are in a flooding recurrence zone of 0-20 years, which has a one in 20, or more than 5 per cent chance of flooding each year. Charette said the province will create next year a fifth risk zone, associated with homes that are located behind a "flood protection structure," such as a dike or retaining wall, that meets a set of criteria defined by the province. The government has said the new rules are necessary due to climate change, and were conceived after major flooding in 2017 and 2019 that caused an estimated total of more than $1 billion in damages. Some mayors have expressed concerns that the new maps will prevent some residents from being able to purchase flood insurance, and that values will plummet if homes are located in newly identified flood zones. They also criticized the province last year for holding consultations before publishing the new maps. Charette on Thursday struck a reassuring tone, saying most of the homes that will be added to flood zone maps will likely be in the lowest-risk categories. He said the value of homes has continued to rise, including in flood zones. "And an important element — you've heard me say it a few times over the last year — we aren't creating new flood zones through this process, we're simply identifying them," he said. Quebec estimated last year that 77,000 homes could be in flood zones, but that number has since been downgraded. The province made clear that nobody would be forced to relocate their homes under the new management plan. However, new construction will not be allowed in very high-risk zones; homes destroyed by flooding in those zones will not be permitted to be rebuilt.
CTV News
06-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Quebec announces $25 million for greening infrastructure
Environment Minister Benoit Charette announces $25 million for improving infrastructure to face climate change. (Benoit Charette/ X)
CBC
07-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Environmentalists warn against Quebec pipeline revival as politicians push for west-east link
With the threat of U.S. tariffs still looming, the Quebec government has opened the door to reconsidering a controversial pipeline project transporting natural gas from Western Canada to the province, where it would be liquefied and shipped overseas. The LNG-Québec project, planned for the Saguenay area, north of Quebec City, was scrapped in 2021 due to the pipeline's environmental risks — and strong public opposition. Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette said this week the government would consider looking at the project again. "We're not opposed to energy projects that respect the environmental criteria," he said. It marked a major shift for the Coalition Avenir Québec government, but one that shouldn't come as a surprise, given the changed political context, said Mark Purdon, a business school professor and holder of the decarbonization chair at the Université du Québec à Montréal. "I really think it's politics. I don't think what is driving the renewal of GNL-Québec is the economic opportunity," Purdon told CBC News. The fundamentals of the project haven't changed, and neither have the environmental concerns, he said. The proposed project included a 780-kilometre natural gas pipeline from northern Ontario to Saguenay and a terminal to liquefy the gas in Saguenay and load it onto tankers. It faced stiff opposition due to its environmental impacts, including threats to beluga whales and broader concerns over increased greenhouse gas emissions. Proponents of natural gas contend it is cleaner and lower in emissions than oil and coal, though its production and transportation can release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. One recent peer-reviewed study found that due to methane leakage, the greenhouse gas footprint from exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) could equal or even exceed that of coal. 'Not the solutions we are looking for' Charles-Édouard Têtu, climate policy analyst at the environmental group Équiterre, said in an interview the province should prioritize clean energy projects rather than fossil fuels. "These are not the solutions we are looking for and they would not answer the needs of Canadians and Quebecers at the moment," he said. He questioned, as well, whether the demand would be there when such a project is finally completed, given the shifting situation in Europe. WATCH | Stalled pipeline project through Quebec reconsidered: Previously shelved pipeline projects that pass through Quebec are getting a second look 7 hours ago Duration 2:15 The threat of U.S. tariffs have prompted the Quebec government to reconsider the LNG-Québec project, which was scrapped in 2021, while there's renewed discussion federally about an oil pipeline project from Alberta to New Brunswick. A pipeline that runs from Ontario through Quebec to Saguenay would also require approval from First Nations. Lucien Wabanonick, chief of the Anishinaabe council of Lac Simon, said First Nations would be open to listening to proposals — but would need to be consulted. "You need to have that discussion," he said. The federal government, meanwhile, has also suggested that provinces should consider more co-operation given the changes south of the border. Jonathan Wilkinson, the federal Natural Resources Minister, said Thursday that Trump's threatened tariffs exposed a "vulnerability" in energy infrastructure. Wilkinson said some parts of Canada, namely Ontario and Quebec, are dependent on oil pipelines that move through the U.S. to meet their needs — and there has to be some hard conversations about whether that's sustainable given what may transpire during a possible Trump trade war and beyond. Earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly suggested LNG-Québec could play a role in getting Canada's oil and gas to new markets overseas. "We currently have a vulnerability with respect to the United States for our oil and our gas," she said.
