After closing his restaurant for three months due to flooding, a Quebec business owner was shocked to find that the provincial government will not provide him any financial assistance for the damage.
The St-Jean Boulevard Mediterranean restaurant Tekka Grill, owned by Michael Gad, was submerged in three feet of water for days following a spring flooding. After the flood waters receded, Gad assessed the damage to his business, amounting to about $125,000 in ruined equipment and furniture.
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When Gad approached the provincial government and his insurer for help, he was informed by the province that it cannot help him since the damages were linked to a sewer backup. He was also told by his insurer that his policy would only cover about a third of the damages – up to $50,000, despite Gad’s restaurant equipment being insured for up to $150,000.
“I was expecting good help from the government, as they promised,” Gad told CBC. “But at the end, I found that it’s just promises.”
Gad also revealed to CBC that he might lose his home, as he has no source of income with his restaurant closed.
Under Quebec’s financial assistance plan, businesses could receive up to $265,000 in compensation for “damage to property essential to operation,” including “land, buildings, infrastructures, equipment, [and] inventory.”
Not all government officials think that Gad’s restaurant damages should be excluded from financial assistance.
“The sewer backup is not the cause — the cause is the flood,” commented Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough councillor Justine McIntyre. “The cause is the fact that there was far more water in the Rivière des Prairies than what we’re used to seeing.”
“[Gad] is not somebody who wants a government handout, but he is in a situation of need, and all he wants is to be able to get back to work and be able to continue to provide for his family. So I feel that our government has, as of now — that we failed him.”
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