Photo courtesy of Village of Cap-Pele Facebook page
There is widespread anxiety within the community of Cap-Pele/Beaubassin-Est after several suspicious fires.
The Chamber of Commerce is calling for concrete actions, and wants a meeting as soon as possible with the local authorities, and elected officials to find solutions to help reduce the
fear in the region.
Three fishery businesses were recently destroyed by fire in the community. The community has also been hit with several other fires in the past.
President Christine Duguay says a recent survey of members found the majority are worried or distressed about the situation, “It’s clear that our businesses are afraid. They are afraid that their business will burn down overnight. We work hard every day on our businesses to make them grow and create jobs for the people here. It has to stop.”
She says the safety of business owners and employees is also a concern, “What happens if we lose one of our members or one of our members’ employees in a fire? It would be a major
tragedy. It would be devastating for our business community. Especially if we know that it can be avoided.”
The survey also asked about insurance premiums. It found more than half said they are dealing with increases as a result of the fires.
It states most companies in the fishing industry, manufacturing and processing plants have received an increase of more than 20% on their insurance premiums.
Vice-President Natalie Cormier owns Able Canvas. She says insurance costs have exploded dramatically since her business was engulfed in flames in June 2020, “To give an idea of the magnitude of the situation, the insurance company advised me that we are in a high-risk area now, so we had a 400% increase on our premium. The situation is really damaging for our small and medium sized businesses.”
