Rehabilitation of the docks: the impatience of Pointe Verte fishermen

In early August, the government announced an investment of $25 million to improve ten piers in the northeastern province, but not the one in Pointe Verte.

I’m glad that sidewalk projects are popping up all over the place, says fisherman Yvonne Arsino. Unfortunately, Pointe Verte got it wrong again.

Pointe-Verte anglers have long wanted major repairs to their pier, which is practically collapsing under the weight of the years.

Yvonne Arsino and Léger Arsenault are lobster fishermen in Pointe Verte. Léger Arsenault is also the head of the local port authority.

Photo: Radio Canada

Over the years, a floating dock and landing trough have been added, as well as patchwork, eg a new cement deck. But these are the businesses the structure poorly supports, according to Yvonne Arsenault.

When you build a house, you do the foundation work first. Instead of checking the basis, they were there and created a file [dalle] cement it. Of course, the whole thing is falling apart now.

We have little chiquette jobs all the time , complains his colleague, Leger Arsenault, who notes that the pavement is weakening a little more each year. Almost everywhere, especially on one side. Every fall, when the weather is bad, we lose parts of it.

Last fall we didn’t have bad weather, but if this year was bad weather in November, [le quai] You will lose moreLéger Arsino, fears.

But more urgent, they say, is dredging to improve boat traffic.

We can’t go to our pier now at low tide. We have to go home, get stuck in the mud, and then wait for the tide to rise.

It is also a safety issue in the event of bad weather preventing boats from running at the entrance to the pier at low tide.

We may have good boats, but when [le vent arrive] From the east, you have to come to the pier, you have to go back to the pierYvonne Arsino chip.

Fishermen in Pointe-Verte think their pier has been neglected for too long.

Photo: Radio Canada

A missed opportunity?

If Pointe Verte fishermen are disappointed they can’t take advantage of the recent wave of federal announcements to repair sidewalks, they want to be heard during this campaign. But they fear Ottawa’s coffers will be empty once the pandemic is over.

The answer we will get from Ottawa is that there is no money left! This is what we say to each other Yvonne Arsino adds.

From the report of François Vinault