Chateauguay's snowbanks remain uncleared in row between mayor, blue collar workers
Chateauguay is still digging out from all the recent snow – but the mayor is underwater due to a municipal spat.
The South Shore city’s mayor, Eric Allard, called in trucks from the private sector to help after blue-collar workers refused to work evenings and weekends to get the job done.
“It is dangerous right now. People walking in the street, it's unacceptable,” Allard said of the snow, pointing to how students are walking in the streets from a local high school because there’s nowhere to walk on the sidewalk.
Allard said because the snow wasn’t being cleared quickly enough by city workers, he had to make a decision to call in workers from the private sector.
“We wanted to help the blue collars so we used the collective agreement. There's a clause there that allows us to call external trucks only for the snow removal process,” he said.
Allegedly, that's when the trouble started.
“Some people did not like the situation, even though it was in the collective agreement, and we got some intimidation, we got some vandalism,” said Allard.
Allard said the city has been dealing with death threats and vandalism.
He went on to explain there have been four instances of metal bars placed in snowbanks that damaged snowblowers.
“Metal rods that appear in snowbanks. I don't believe in hazards like that it's a deliberate act for sure,” said Allard.
A noose was placed in the boss's office in the municipal garage.
“There's some supervisor that entered a room and there was a hanging rope that was installed for them. It's unacceptable in 2023,” said Allard.
An urgent meeting was called between the city and workers in front of the labour board on Saturday night when a burst water pipe also went unfixed.
Both parties were called a second time Wednesday to appear before a judge.
The blue-collar workers union SCFP (Syndicat Canadien de la function publique) released a statement on the spat.
“During a labour relations meeting, the union and management agreed on the framework for blowing snow. We had found solutions, but despite this, the city did not take them into account and called on the private sector to do the work,” it said.
The next steps will be decided by the labour tribunal.
“We should be able to clear the city,” said Allard. “We should be able to make the city more secure because people are at risk walking so we're waiting for the decision of the tribunal.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
As Israel pushes deeper into Rafah, Hamas regroups elsewhere in ungoverned Gaza
Israeli forces were battling Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago, where Hamas has exploited a security vacuum to regroup.
Thousands of civilians evacuated from northeast Ukraine as Russia presses renewed border assault
Thousands more civilians have fled Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday.
Feds 'committed to doing more,' but minister offers no timeline for Canadian Disability Benefit boost
Amid significant criticism from advocates, Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Minister Kamal Khera is defending her government's long-promised, newly unveiled Canada Disability Benefit, calling the funds an "initial step," but without laying out a timeline for future expansion of the program.
RCMP boss expresses desire for new law to deal with threats against politicians
RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme says he wants the government to look at drafting a new law that would make it easier for police to pursue charges against people who threaten elected officials.