The chaos of snow removal over the weekend of February 10th, which saw several events converge in Quebec, deserves clarification, particularly after the lunatic statements made by Mayor Marchand and his right-hand man Pierre-Luc Lachance.
The Marchand administration was criticized from all sides for its failures, which came at the heart of Mardi Gras, the pee-wee tournament, even as several citizens gathered at restaurants for the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day.
Despite promising improvements, the mayor has found nothing better than to rely on the fact that the policy was passed under the previous administration.
As for Pierre-Luc Lachance, he apologized with one side of his mouth while spreading misinformation on the other.
no law
Mr Lachance claimed on Friday it was “no longer about sticking with the policy of not clearing snow on Fridays and Saturdays and organizing city-wide operations, but only by sector”.
However, Quebec City’s snow removal policy allows for extended snow removal deadlines on weekends or public holidays.
In no case is it mentioned that it should not be removed, which makes no sense since public safety must always come first.
In addition, it is important to note that the Snow Removal Policy is a guide, not a law.
All latitudes
With major events approaching and significant rainfall forecast, the city has every avenue to ensure snow removal is carried out efficiently.
That was not the case on the weekend of February 10th and has nothing to do with politics. It looks more like a bad decision not to clear the snow at the weekend, perhaps to save money.
Opposition leader Claude Villeneuve yesterday called for the reasons for this failure to be clarified. He wants the Auditor General to take care of this. Councilor Stevens Mélançon again called for a full snow clearance committee.
The Marchand administration must be transparent.
