Saint-Henri residents urged to 'be patient' as borough sorts out snow-removal snafu
Private contractor still on hook to clear snow as city moves to cancel contract
The mayor of Montreal's Southwest borough urged residents to "be patient and give us a couple of days" as the Saint-Henri neighbourhood entered its fifth day with almost no sign of snow-removal operations.
Streets and sidewalks around Saint-Henri remain largely untouched after 26 centimetres of snow fell Sunday and Monday.
Since then, another 14 centimetres has fallen on the city, exacerbating a situation that Southwest councillor Craig Sauvé says is unacceptable.
"People are right to be completely upset," he said Friday.
As of 2 p.m. Friday, only 29 per cent of streets in the Southwest borough had been cleared of snow, according to the city's Info-Neige website.
Sauvé said the borough's blue-collar crews are getting their share of the work done, but a private contractor — Pavages D'Amour — has not been able to deliver.
'We are in control,' mayor says
Mayor Benoit Dorais's request for patience came in a Facebook message posted Thursday.
"We are in control and, with the city, we will act rapidly and efficiently," Dorais said.
Yesterday, the City of Montreal's executive committee announced plans to cancel the Southwest borough's contract with Pavages D'Amour.
Pierre Desrochers, who chairs Montreal's executive council, said Thursday that it appears the company "bit off more than it could chew."
Pavages D'Amour will still have to finish the season, and a company crew was seen Friday putting up no-parking signs in Saint-Henri in preparation for snow-clearing operations.
Lack of equipment, employees spark doubts
Those signs have been going up all week — with no actual snow-clearing in their wake, Saint-Henri residents told CBC.
Among other issues, Sauvé said, he believes the company lacks the equipment it needs to get the job done.
Earlier this week, a Pavages D'Amour employee working a sidewalk plow in Saint-Henri told CBC that the company also doesn't have enough staff.
"Quite frankly, I've lost faith in this company," Sauvé said.
"I'm not confident that they will get the job done with the quality and speed that we would like. I would have liked that we look at options for replacing them this winter."
The company has already amassed around $150,000 in fines related to problems with its snow-clearing operations, according to Sauvé.
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Contract worth $16M over 5 years
This is the first year of Pavages D'Amour's contract with the Southwest borough, a deal worth $16 million over five years.
Pavages D'Amour also has two other snow removal contracts, with the Montreal boroughs of Lachine and Ahuntsic-Cartierville.
In his Facebook video, Dorais said he's confident Pavages D'Amour will get its act together and finish the work in Saint-Henri.
"Pavages D'Amour does not want to be on the City of Montreal's blacklist," he said.
"They have other contracts with the city for many millions of dollars, and for sure they don't want to lose them."
Dorais said it's impossible to end the contract with Pavages D'Amour immediately.
"The mayor's emergency powers don't allow me to give the contract to another company," he said.
"We are obliged by to make a public call for tenders, and that takes a couple of months."