A woman shovels snow from around her car following Montreal’s winter storm on March 15.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Almost seven days after the last snowflake of a huge winter storm, Montrealers are still sorting out what caused a 300-car, 12-hour traffic jam on a freeway, has a truck driver facing mischief charges, put three civil servants and two provincial ministers in the hot seat and has even rattled the ivory towers of McGill University.
With inquiries under way, Transport Minister Laurent Lessard and Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux emerged Tuesday for what has become a daily flogging by the Quebec press. In the latest session, it was learned the ministers went to bed on storm night believing only 30 people were stranded.
It was still not clear who dropped the other zero.
"There were problems on the ground and in communicating," Mr. Coiteux said. "There was confusion. There was a lack of leadership. We're sorry for the faults in our operations. Our goal is that it never happens again."
Last week, as the Eastern Seaboard of the United States braced for a storm that never came, Montreal was hit with 40 centimetres of snow and strong winds – the biggest blizzard of the season but the kind normally taken in stride in Canadian cities.
On a stretch of Autoroute 13 running through an industrial area between Montréal-Trudeau airport and a rail yard, a snow-clearing company in charge of the highway was slow to react to the late-winter storm.
Soon, transport trucks could no longer grip the road, causing an immense traffic jam. Police in cruisers got stuck at the back of the snarl and made repeated calls for help that never came. Drivers fruitlessly called 911. A few commuters walked out, but 12 hours later, on Wednesday morning, most were still huddled in cars near the heart of Canada's second-biggest city, waiting for a tow.
Around that time, Mr. Lessard strolled toward a meeting – only to be confronted by journalists who had better information than the minister. He soon became irritated and walked away, prompting Premier Philippe Couillard to emerge an hour later to do damage control.
Meanwhile, in Montreal, the fire department finally sent out trucks to rescue the stuck commuters – as well as a bus equipped with a desperately needed toilet.
It's still not clear what happened, but two officers in charge of the sector for the Sûreté du Québec have been placed on desk duty. An official with the Transport Ministry, which owns and operates the highway, has also been relieved of some duties. And on Sunday, a truck driver accused of refusing to let his truck be towed was arrested and told he could face a charge of mischief.
Meanwhile, attempts are under way to get beyond snowfall and bureaucratic bungling to explain what it really means – a type of sociological commentary most commonly practised in, and on, the province of Quebec.
Andrew Potter, the director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, wrote in Maclean's magazine that the crisis was rooted in the social alienation afflicting Quebec. He cited as evidence the Québécois instinct to pay for things such as soup and winter tires under the table and to avoid social interaction, volunteerism and charitable donations on a larger scale than the rest of Canada.
Some of the points are true, but many critics – including the Premier – are not convinced the province is "an almost pathologically alienated and low-trust society" or that incompetent plowing, towing and emergency response constituted a "mass breakdown in social order," as Mr. Potter wrote. In fact, stranded commuters acted in an exemplary fashion, sharing water, snacks and warm vehicles with those running low on fuel.
Mr. Potter was roundly condemned as a Quebec basher in the politico-media echo chamber, which is another style of commentary unique to the province. McGill University took the trouble to distance itself from Mr. Potter. This outraged academics, who jealously guard their freedom to be wrong.
Still, Mr. Potter issued a retraction, admitting to "rhetorical flourishes that went beyond what was warranted." In other words, maybe it was just a big blizzard and another botched snow-clearing job.
Les Perreaux