Yves Desautels, the inexhaustible traffic man, announces his retirement

After 47 years at Radio-Canada, including 26 in circulation, Yves Desautels announced Monday that he will retire on May 30. “I have three weeks left with you, I’m going to be bored,” he said, his voice full of emotion at the microphone of Patrick Masbourian, on the show All one morningon ICI Première.

Yves Desautels made his official debut as a traffic columnist in the winter of 1998, in the midst of the ice crisis, thus taking the place of Roger Laroche, whom he had often replaced and who was retiring after twenty years at this post. Before undertaking this mandate, Mr. Desautels was first a reporter in Western Canada, from 1977 to 1985, then in Montreal, from 1985 to 1998.

He was also the first Radio-Canada journalist on the scene during the Polytechnique massacre on December 6, 1989. It happened, a little by chance. It was around supper time, there were no more reporters in the news room, and the assignor called me at our house because he knew I lived in Outremont, not far from the ‘Polytechnic universityhe remembers.

That’s how I ended up on the site, without really knowing what was going on. There, I saw that it was a bigger tragedy than I thought. I spent almost the whole night there, it got worse by the hour.

A quarter of a century on the road

In his second life at Radio-Canada, Yves Desautels has become the voice who, from 5:35 a.m. to 5:58 p.m., punctuates ICI Première broadcasts to take stock of the state of traffic in Greater Montreal. It’s a demanding job, which requires a lot of patience, but the radio man says he loved his work.

On a typical day, Mr. Desautels gets up around 4 a.m. and goes to the studio to start the day at 5:30 a.m. with his colleagues from the morning show, i.e. All one morning in the last few years. I like being there at the table, because it’s the only time I see everyone, and it’s a little lighterhe explains.

Then, he gets in his car and drives around Greater Montreal, looking for congestion points or road accidents, which all motorists avoid like the plague. It’s like tornado chasers, he illustrates. But I always try to be on the other side of the traffic jams.

In his vehicle, Yves Desautels also receives calls from listeners, who have proven to be faithful allies over the years. There are regulars who call almost every morning or evening, because it’s become their habit, there are others who call if they witness a specific incidenthe explains. Luckily they are there, it brings a little life to the reports.

Traffic in Montreal, worse than ever

In 26 years on the road, Yves Desautels has had a front-row seat to see the evolution of traffic in Montreal, and he believes that the last few years have been the worst. It’s gotten pretty bad, it’s worse than worsehe said straight away.

Among the irritants, there are the famous orange cones everywhere and the work of the City of Montreal. There were officials who told me on condition of anonymity that there was certainly a lack of planning. The worst is the city center and Plateau-Mont-Royal.

He also deplores the increasing congestion coming from the suburbs and regions towards Montreal, the result, among other things, of the increasingly prohibitive price of houses in the city, according to him. He gives the example of the Laurentides highway.

When I started, things were blocked from Laval to the Métropolitainehe explains. 640, Boisbriand, Sainte-Thérèse, all that. Today, it is often from Mirabel that it blocks and, in the worst cases, from Saint-Jérôme.”,”text”:”Five years later, it went back to 640, Boisbriand , Sainte-Thérèse, all that. Today, it is often from Mirabel that it is blocked and, in the worst case, from Saint-Jérôme.”}}”>Five years later, it went back to 640, Boisbriand, Sainte-Thérèse, all that. Today, it is often from Mirabel that it is blocked and, in the worst cases, from Saint-Jérôme.

A disappearing profession

With the imminent departure of Yves Desautels, the profession of traffic columnist could be on the verge of disappearing in Quebec. He explains that he was one of the last to do this work with Denis Niquette, who retired from Rythme FM in 2017.

The private stations have cut patrols, but they still have the information via Transports Québec cameras and listeners., he explains. It remains to be seen whether Radio-Canada will follow suit and eliminate Mr. Desautels’ position, but listeners will be able to hear his reassuring voice until May 30.

After which, the man will hang up his microphone to enjoy life, spend time with his grandchildren, play tennis and, above all, sleep. I think I’ll try to recoverhe concludes.