Economically, it affects jobs. People are no longer applying for a job at a company across the river, for example at Nortera, a food company, and vice versa. There are quality jobs to be had with the upcoming expansion of the Port of Montreal in Contrecœur. There's a pool of interesting workers who aren't applying for jobs on either side of the river because the 50 km detour is too long.
This also affects medical care. There's no health clinic on our side, in Saint‑Antoine‑sur‑Richelieu, but there is one in Saint‑Denis‑sur‑Richelieu. People no longer go to a doctor on the other side knowing that, three months a year, they'll have to travel an extra 50 kilometres. It's difficult for seniors, people who are more vulnerable or have mobility issues.
There are also major repercussions for local services.
I've talked a bit about fire and police service partnerships. We're experiencing climate change, and we need to be increasingly prepared for it. It would be possible to work even more with fire departments on the other side of the river. I'm a trained firefighter myself, and I'm involved. Communities on both sides of the river could help each other out in a major event, and would benefit greatly from it. Both Saint‑Denis‑sur‑Richelieu and Saint‑Antoine‑sur‑Richelieu need firefighters from the other side. Yet, because there's a three-month break, we're not working on collaborative projects.