(TLN) While not everyone agrees the plan is fair, Quebec Premier François Legault says the province will help compensate flooded homeowners with sizeable payments, although he is warning that taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to shoulder the bill for flood damage forever.

Last week just days after the flooding crisis started, Premier Legault said the CAQ government would buy out flood-area house owners up to a maximum $200,000. As well, he said the province would establish a ceiling of $100,000 in compensation to owners making claims after flooding.

Limiting compensation

Speaking to media in Gatineau last week while touring the flood-stricken area, Legault said the provincial government will not be able to afford offering compensation “every year to solve problems, but only on a temporary basis.” He said the government preferred to offer incentives to move to stricken homeowners, since the current environmental conditions are starting to become a regular occurrence.

The reaction to Legault’s offer was swift in some quarters. In places affected by the floods, like Laval or Pierrefonds on the other side of the des Prairies River, homeowners have expressed their outrage that Legault would offer such low amounts for properties that in some cases are worth several times what’s being offered.

Relief for tax payers

Provincial compensation aside, another type of monetary relief appears to be on the horizon for those impacted by the flooding.

Revenue Quebec and the Canada Revenue Agency have both announced that they will overlook late filing penalties on income tax normally due April 30, as well as businesses filing for taxes, if the tax files in question are from individuals or businesses impacted by the floods.

However, the two agencies said taxpayers in this situation must make contact immediately to report their circumstances.

Martin C. Barry

Elected officials from Laval, including Mayor Marc Demers and Sainte-Rose MNA Christopher Skeete, gathered at the Axion 50 Plus seniors centre in Chomedey last Monday for an announcement that L’Appui Laval will be receiving $1,476,000 over the next two years to help provide support to persons in Laval who are caregivers to senior citizens.

The amount is being provided from a fund established by the Lucie and André Chagnon Family in conjunction with the provincial government. In an address, Skeete said he understood the need to provide better support to caregivers as he was in that position at one time.

Skeete was a caregiver

“When I was younger I was a caregiver,” Skeete said, noting that he provided home care to his late mother when he was still in his teens. He said he could have used some caregiver support back then, although it wasn’t available at the time.

“I’m particularly happy that we’re going to be announcing $61,000 over two years for SCAMA, which will help the English community and the Allophone community do a little bit more and provide and provide a little bit more assistance to its people,” added Skeete who is Premier François Legault’s principal liaison to Quebec’s English-speaking community.

Services Provided to Caregivers

In a statement issued to the media, L’Appui Laval said it is committed to funding 13 projects presented by eight Laval organizations. The group said the subsidy will serve to increase and consolidate different types of services to improve the quality of life of caregivers.

According to L’Appui Laval, 66 per cent of the amount will be dedicated to respite services, for a total of $978,384 over two years. Twenty-one per cent will be allocated to psychosocial support services, totalling $305,208 over the same period.

Thirteen per cent of the amount will go to information services, including training and support, for a total of $192,523 for this purpose over two years. L’Appui Laval said the investment prioritizes respite services to prevent the exhaustion of caregivers. Services will be available during the day, evening or at night.

Group Respite

Three community centres will offer day group respite for a total of five days: The Centre Communautaire le Rendez-Vous des Aînés, the Centre de services communautaires et d’aide au maintien de l’autonomie (SCAMA), and the Comité d’Animation du Troisième Âge de Laval (CATAL).

L’Appui Laval said the Société Alzheimer Laval is also proposing two group respite projects. A first atypical (occasional) respite, available seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and a respite project for caregivers of people less than 65 years of age.

Home Respite

Regular or atypical (occasional) individual respite services in the comfort of the home are also offered by three organizations: The Association Lavalloise des Personnes Aidantes (ALPA), the Coopérative de soutien à domicile, and the Société Alzheimer Laval.

Psychosocial Support Services

L’Appui Laval said the role of the caregiver sometimes reveals concealed strengths, but sometimes the caregiver needs support at different times in his or her experience. The Société Alzheimer Laval offers home-based consultations and follow-up services, with a focus on families.

Beginning in the month of May, Parkinson Montreal-Laval will prioritize offering group meetings once a week as well as a few individual follow-ups. And the Association Lavalloise des Personnes Aidantes (ALPA) offers support groups and individual support to caregivers who feel the need.

Information Services – Training

L’Appui Laval said the caregiver needs to be informed about his or her role and to understand their loved one’s illness. As such, the Association Lavalloise des Personnes Aidantes (ALPA) offers information sessions and conferences in French and English. An assessment of caregivers is possible, with referrals and support as needed.

As well, the Hellenic Social Services of Quebec (SSHQ) offers a variety of information-training activities and mainly targets Laval’s Anglophone and Allophone clienteles.

A Priority at L’Appui Laval

L’Appui Laval said that a major challenge for all organizations providing services in Laval is to reach out to the Anglophone populations, including ethno cultural minorities. In addition to services already funded, L’Appui Laval said it is investing in a new project at a community centre in Chomedey. The Centre SCAMA will offer new respite activities aimed at reaching mainly Anglophone and Allophone clients.

L’Appui Laval has also published a handy folder in English for persons caring for a spouse, a friend, a neighbour or a friend. For more information on the services available in Laval for caregivers, L’Appui Laval invites you to contact the INFO-AIDANT phone line at 1-855-852-7784, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 8 pm.

Renata Isopo

Chronic illness can generate feelings of denial, anger, grief. But at some point emotions subside and the harsh reality strikes that you are no longer the person you once were. The illness robs you of your sense of identity and purpose. Can a meaningful life be rebuilt? Yes, if an incredibly strong, courageous fighter who never let go of her will to live, a survivor, one of life’s miracles is any example of how to celebrate life by lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness. Here’s Alice’s heroic story, told in her own words of inspiration to all.

Uncharted territory

“Rebuilding or redefining normal is a long process,” she says. After spending my teenage years at St. Justine’s Children’s Hospital as a permanent resident, and consequently at the Jewish General Hospital as soon as I turned 20, I felt that things couldn’t get worse. Rebuilding my life required that I explore uncharted territory.”

 What did you miss most about high school?

“It was bleak. I missed my friends, going to class, the activities, and just being a regular teenager. I was home-schooled but too sick even for that. Most days were spent in the hospital. I wanted to graduate with my classmates. My home-school teachers did their best, but it was too hard, they stopped coming, except for one who never gave up and made sure I would graduate with everyone else.

I left the hospital to attend the Laurier Senior High School Graduation Ceremony, an emotional day for me and family, flooded with tears of joy although I was still in much pain. To go on stage for my certificate was my greatest accomplishment, something I will never forget.”

Did you ever lose hope?

“No. I never said, ‘Why me?’ – no matter what debilitating state I was in. On tons of medication, I underwent chemo, cortisone, and radiation therapy although I didn’t have cancer. Often delirious, I developed allergies, and lost my hair several times. I was unrecognizably bloated, weighing 200 pounds from medication and treatments, one experiment after another, hoping the next one would be it. 

My doctor travelled overseas to learn about my illness (Purpura Trombose Trombocitopenique) and how to treat it since very few people are known to suffer the condition. She wasn’t very successful, just more experiments which I willingly took. There was nothing else. Only 14 when struck with the disease, I didn’t understand it, but I learned a lot about it through my medical team.  Explanations and research from across the world helped me face what I was up against.  I never lost hope, knowing God was with me.”

How did the illness affect your family?

“Everyone was affected. It changed their responsibilities and boundaries. For my mom, it was emotionally and physically devastating, pulled in all directions, back and forth to doctors, hospitals, and home. She gave up her job since she slept at the hospital. She became a permanent fixture in my hospital room, was always there, a tower of strength never giving up hope even when there seemed to be no hope in sight. My dad suffered financial strains since he spent days at my bedside also. It was emasculating and frustrating for him to watch his child deteriorating, in pain, hooked to life-support machines.”

After seven years, what is your message to others who are chronically ill?

“Well, my family and I had to create a ‘new normal’ to better understand and find meaning in everyday challenges. To survive, you take it a day at a time, it’s all you can do. Take nothing for granted and realize you’re stronger and more capable than you ever thought you could be.

Never lose hope, stay faithful and true to yourself. Be thankful and positive, things can and often do change for the better. I lost over 100 pounds, still more to go, living at home now. I go for weekly for treatments, but I’m really much better, thank God. I’m planning my future although there are always crisis-mode moments. I’ve been through a lot, but in my heart I believe the best is still yet to come.”