Quebec struggles to dig out from back-to-back snowstorms

Quebec is still struggling to recover from record-breaking back-to-back storms, with schools in some parts of the province closed.

Most schools in Montreal, however, are open despite the abundance of snow and many sidewalks not being cleared.

The city of Montreal says the snow-clearing operation will take about eight days — longer than usual.

City spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said more than 3,000 city workers have been deployed to clear the snow as loading operations have started. 

The first storm, the biggest of the season, hit the province on Thursday morning and forced school closures and flight cancellations. Another one struck Montreal on Sunday, leaving more than 40 centimetres of snow.

Garbage collection has been put on hold for the week and some sidewalks can’t be cleared until snow-removal operations are underway, Sabourin said.

Mike Cohen, spokesperson for the English Montreal School Board, said the school board met with French service centres on the island and decided to reopen classrooms Tuesday. 

“Even though there’s a lot of snow on the ground, a lot of difficult conditions, it made sense to reopen because these conditions are not going to change over the next several days and we can’t keep kids home from school that long,” he said. 

Cohen asked drivers to be careful on the roads and parents to be patient, given the conditions.

“The conditions are very difficult out there so buses are going to be late picking the kids up and bringing them home,” he said.

Closed school boards and service centres include: 

• New Frontiers School Board.
• Riverside School Board.
• Centre de services scolaire des Grandes-Seigneuries.
• Centre de services scolaire Marie-Victorin.