MONTREAL — Montreal’s comptroller says the city slipped up on its snow removal efforts after the early January storm.
In his report, comptroller Alain Bond put part of the blame on the mix of ice, snow and the extreme temperature fluctuations that occurred between Jan. 2 and Jan. 9. The rest had nothing to do with Mother Nature and everything to do with poor planning, Bond said.
Bond points to broken equipment, unclear weather reports, not enough staff and absentee staff. He says there are too many different snow removal policies in place on the island.
Sixteen recommendations were made to ensure better service in the future, including boroughs sharing employees, creating a communication plan between boroughs in the event of a major storm and keeping track of broken equipment.
“Communication, training, equipment, the management, the prevention strategy, it’s all together, not a menu a la carte,” Montreal mayor Denis Coderre told reporters Wednesday.
“We need standards and that will help us to make it happen.”
Opposition leader Luc Fernandez lays the blame at the mayor’s feet.
“He cut seven per cent of the snow removal budget in the boroughs. That is major,” Fernandez shot back at a later press conference.
“Last week Denis Coderre went on a witch hunt to find out who’s to blame. Today we found this person and it’s Denis Coderre.”
Montreal’s mayor has yet to lay down a timeline to roll out the recommendations, but promises better coordination when the next storm hits.
Comments