After an official suggested they move, Chatham-Kent-Leamington's MP wants to get the conversation going again between residents and government about shoreline erosion.
Dave Van Kesteren commented after the latest round of heavy rain and wind affecting residents living along the Lake Erie shoreline, especially in Leamington.
Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, high water flooded residents on Cotterie Park Road.
Van Kesteren has had been having meetings with affected shoreline property owners, the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) and other shareholders for at least two years. He told BlackburnNews.com that it's time for the Liberal government to take the issue up again, starting with the process of gathering information.
"It's been quite some time since there was a study done for the shoreline," said Van Kesteren. "That's necessary too, but that really should happen at senior levels. So, we're going to go back at them again."
Shoreline erosion and lakeshore flooding after storms have been issues in Chatham-Kent and Leamington for decades. It has gotten so troubling that Tim Byrne, watershed management director for ERCA, suggested residents move out of the area, telling BlackburnNewsWindsor.com, "it's not safe to live there".
Last month, Chatham-Kent received $16.5 million from the federal government for shoreline reinforcement, but Van Kesteren pointed out one caveat.
"It was focused on the Thames River and the Sydenham River," said Van Kesteren. "That's not where we wanted to see the money, but this is why it's so important that we continually go back to the government, go back to the table, and get them to understand that we have some serious issues here."
In addition to the ongoing erosion issue, Van Kesteren also wants any study to include road infrastructure, and whether roads along the shoreline are adequate enough to handle emergency vehicles should the need for them arise.
Van Kesteren said he did not know exactly when the government would take up the issue again.
"We feel that there's a role for them to play," said Van Kesteren. "There's a leadership role, first of all. There's a lot of talk about the environment, and about climate change with the effects that it's made. Well, we'd better start thinking about those things, and we'd better have a plan for the future. So far, we haven't seen that yet."
