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As ice cold floodwaters overtook sections of Île-Bizard in early May, were the poor, the elderly and the handicapped left to fend for themselves?

That’s the question at the heart of a class-action lawsuit filed in Superior Court against the mayor and borough of Île-Bizard—Ste-Geneviève on May 24. The document alleges that a lack of preparation by the administration of Mayor Normand Marinacci cost people their homes and or thousands of dollars in damage.

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The plaintiffs claim that while neighbouring cities appeared to receive substantial assistance from their borough, there weren’t enough sandbags made available on Île-Bizard. Furthermore, the suit alleged, members of the military who had offered to sandbag around a trailer park on the island were called off by the city.

“I encountered the military (in the trailer park) and they talked to me about their frustration with the mayor not giving permission to help this area,” Île-Bizard resident Robert Idsinga wrote, in a sworn statement.