Riverfront property needed for flood prevention: Masse

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A vacant property along Riverside Drive is the ideal candidate for a project that could use federal funds to prevent flooding and shoreline erosion, Rep. Brian Masse said Friday.

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Masse, the NDP MP for Windsor West, said Friday that he is advocating for the federal government to acquire a stretch of riverfront vacant land at Riverside Drive and Lauzon Road.

Currently owned by Detroit International Bridge Corporation, the vacant lot was purchased years ago for speculation for a border crossing.

If we don’t, we will lose more coastline

Masse says it should be used for shoreline erosion protection and flood prevention.

“We are calling on the federal government to start negotiations use a climate change adaptation fund to buy this property and keep it as a green space and also use it for the protection of the coast, ”said Masse.

The alternative, he said, is to leave the land empty and erode or further develop it, limiting access to the riverbank.

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“Frankly, we have too many Americans who own our coastline and our history and our future,” Masse said. “We need to take this forward because it affects our entire community.”

“If we don’t, we will lose more coastline.”

Masse said the money could come from the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, a federal fund used for projects that reduce the impacts of climate change. The fund received an injection of $ 1.4 billion over 12 years in the last federal budget.

Flooding has become a serious and costly problem in Windsor over the past decade, with hundreds of homes and businesses affected by severe storms and rising water levels.

Because flood mitigation projects can be expensive and because the property was originally considered a border site, Masse said he sees this as a federal responsibility, though he said it encourages collaboration with the city and other agencies.

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“This makes him a really strong candidate to be something the federal government should step into,” he said.

“Before those funds are used up, I ask that they be examined now. What better place than along the Great Lakes and the Detroit River, where we know we need some support? “

Masse said he feels the federal government could acquire the property through “any means necessary,” potentially including expropriation.

He cited the United Nations COP 26 climate summit, where world leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have come together to agree on global climate change targets this week as evidence that the Canadian government needs local action.

“If the Prime Minister is serious about protecting against climate change, this is a great example of what we have to do in our own communities,” Masse said.

“We have to do the necessary things, now.”

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