West Island power outages: MNA says Hydro Quebec open to holding information sessions to discuss the problem
After a myriad of complaints about power failures in Montreal's West Island, a meeting was held between the area's MNAs and Hydro-Quebec.
Greg Kelley, the Liberal MNA for Jacques-Cartier, says the issue isn't exclusive to the West Island, but the area is experiencing repeated outages – and he's been hearing from frustrated residents in his riding.
"They just lose power whenever the wind blows, is what they would write to me," Kelley said.
It's one of the reasons he and Pointe-Claire Mayor Tim Thomas wrote a letter to Hydro-Quebec CEO and President Michael Sabia to request a meeting.
"This really came about after the last ice storm last spring," said Kelley. "People in my riding lost power for a couple of days, and they really wanted to know from Hydro what's going on with the network?"
The meeting was held Friday morning with a Hydro-Quebec representative for the Island of Montreal and Liberal MNAs Enrico Ciccone, Monsef Derraji and Brigitte Garceau, along with Kelley.
The MNAs would like to see a series of public information sessions across the West Island where experts from Hydro-Quebec would take questions, explain what improvements will be made to the grid, and respond to calls to possibly bury power lines in some areas.
Hydro-Quebec is open to the idea of public information sessions after Friday's meeting, according to Kelley.
"I'm very encouraged by their openness," he said.
In a statement to CTV News, the public utility said the meeting was "well-received."
"Hydro-Québec agrees that the quality of service and our communications with customers must be improved…We agreed to maintain our collaboration and pursue discussions. In addition, we reassured them that better informing our customers is a priority and that we would be taking action to this effect," the statement read.
The statement added that 2023 was a particularly difficult year for Montreal, partly because of the effects of the spring ice storm and the summer forest fires elsewhere in the province.
It also said part of Hydro-Quebec's action plan is to spend up to $50 billion dollars between now and 2035 to make the power grid more durable over the long term.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army ordered some 100,000 Palestinians on Monday to begin evacuating from the southern city of Rafah, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent and further complicating efforts to broker a cease-fire in Gaza.