Residential neighborhoods in Quebec: more patience for snow removal

In order to cope with exploding snow removal costs, the City of Quebec is proposing to take over internal contracts to achieve savings of $12 million, which could cause more delays in scraping residential neighborhoods and removing snow. during big broadsides.

• Read also: Auditor General’s report: serious shortcomings in the management of snow removal in Quebec

The City is proposing to review its methods regarding the scraping of residential streets which must currently be cleared within 4 hours. The Municipality wants to adjust the routes to do this work in 6 hours, especially during snow episodes of more than 10 cm.

Note that nothing changes for the main and commercial arteries, the coasts and RTC routes and the eco-routes.

We also want to “review the principle of snow removal operations”. On residential streets without sidewalks, loading the snow could take more than the five days currently provided for in the snow removal policy, which is too “restrictive,” said the director of the road maintenance process, Marie -Pierre Raymond.

She indicated that it will be necessary to cultivate more “patience” during big trips, such as when going to a restaurant in large numbers, for example on Valentine’s Day, she illustrated, during a committee of the whole.

These modifications are necessary, explained those responsible for snow removal, who were accompanied by several employees and foremen of this service, a rare occurrence at a plenary session at city hall.

Rising bill

We are indeed experiencing a “constant increase in contract costs” in Quebec, explained Ms. Raymond. In fact, between 2020 and 2023, the snow removal bill increased by $31 million to reach a budget of $104.5 million, an increase of 40%. The cost per fallen centimeter took the same curve, i.e. a 37% increase.

The Auditor General also noted in his latest report that contracts awarded to the private sector for snow removal cost more than those carried out internally. We therefore want to take over several contracts and reorganize the work with the same teams and the same resources. This means aligning more closely with employees’ shifts rather than restrictive deadlines.

Ms. Raymond assured that “for normal precipitation, we have quite the number of qualified blue-collar workers” to carry out the work.

Savings

The City plans to save $12 million within four years. But there could be cost adjustments to operate under management, it was clarified.

The opposition welcomed these changes which bring savings, but Claude Villeneuve regretted that the population was not consulted more and Patrick Paquet deplored that we had lost five years since, according to him, red flags had already been raised a few years ago. years. As for Jackie Smith, she is worried about the labor shortage and the maintenance of working conditions for blue-collar workers.

Citation

“What catches the eye for us, very often, is everything we hear the day after a storm. As if the people on the ground didn’t know what they were doing. That’s what sticks.”

— Director Marie-Pierre Raymond, in response to an opposition councilor who asserted that the presence of snow removal employees in the council room was an indication that there was something “stuck”.