‘They’re always smiling’: Île-Bizard blue collar workers praised for tireless flood relief efforts

The past few weeks have been stressful and frustrating for Île-Bizard residents grappling with spring flooding.  These days, however, one thing that always seems to raise spirits is talking about the city’s blue collar workers.

“The blue collars like, really I have nothing to say. They’re always smiling, cheering us up, ‘do you need anything? Let us know!’ They’re always happy and they’re working huge shifts,” Île-Bizard resident Geneviève Delisle told Global News last week.

READ MORE: ‘We’re just trying to get through it’: Fatigue sets in for Île-Bizard flood victims

“The city workers are amazing,” said Île-Bizard resident Shawn Davidson on April 24.  “They’re there they help us, they give us sandbags, they give us plastic. It’s a big difference from last time.”

At about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, while many were still in pajamas, Île-Bizard public works foreman Trevor Lane was busy inspecting the dike on Paquin Street as he does every morning.  Lane is one of three foremen leading a team of about 50 Île-Bizard blue collars.

“We have two 12-hour shifts, so we’ve been working pretty much 24 hours non stop the past three weeks,” Lane told Global News.

Lane’s usual job is maintaining parks, but for weeks he and the entire crew have been working only on floods. They’ve built huge dikes along with volunteers, firefighters and the army.  They’ve frantically created sandbag walls around peoples homes, and much more.

READ MORE: City officials ask flood relief volunteers to stop building dike on Île-Bizard’s Joly Street

“I’d say it’s easily over 150,000 sandbags we’ve delivered to residents or placed on dikes,” Lane said.

The work has been intense, and the hours have been long. Workers sometimes sleep in their offices.

“Sometimes it’s better to just try to catch a couple of z’s in the office and get back to it next morning,” Lane explained.

He said the appreciation of residents makes all the hard work worthwhile.

“People have been bringing baked goods to our office, they’ve been thanking us. It’s those things that make the long days more bearable, and more fun,” he said.

Blue collar worker Patricia Mathieu is usually a dispatcher, but these days she runs a ferry service for residents of flooded Joly street. She calls the east end home, but these days she’s found a new place to stay to be closer to her work.

“There’s an elderly couple who have offered to take me in,” she explained through a smile.

“I’ve done the work with all my heart,” she told Global News. “It’s exhausting, I have no voice, but it’s been an amazing experience.”

WATCH: Île-Bizard residents brace for weeks of high water levels

 

1:45 Ile-Bizard residents brace for weeks of high water levels

Lane said Île-Bizard workers have had help from blue collars coming from nearly every borough in Montreal in the past few weeks.

“I believe 15 boroughs have sent us equipment or employees. Almost everyone has been here to assist us,” he said. “There is water in large sectors of Île-Bizard, but very few houses have been flooded.”

With things stabilizing now, the blue collar workers are coming down from a nearly month-long adrenaline rush.

“I’ve got to get my soccer fields ready, my tennis court ready, my volleyball courts ready,” said Lane.

Even after the long cleanup is complete and things get back to normal, the blue collar workers in Île-Bizard have found new allies on the flooded streets of their community.