City will remove snow, ice left by last week's storm starting tonight

Freezing rain fell on Montreal last week and without much help from Mother Nature melting it, the city has announced it will clear what's left of iton Sunday.

The operation will begin 7 p.m.

Jean-Franois Parenteau, the executive committee member responsible for the citizen services file, tweeted Saturday afternoon that the mild temperatures felt during the day proved insufficient to melt the ice.

"We were expecting a thaw that could have gone up to seven degrees,"Parenteautold Radio-Canada.

He addedthat removing snow and ice stuck to the ground is "complex."

• Winter storm ravages eastern Quebec, with freezing rain in southwest of province

Parenteau apologized for not announcing a plan to clear the ice earlier.

Mayor Valrie Plante pointed out that the city has been salting the sidewalks in the past few days, and that one snow removal operation costs the city $15 million and this is the third one of 2018, she added.

"As an administration we need to look at all the pieces before pressing a button 'go!' [to] remove snow," Plante said.

She added that the city's administration expected the snow to melt.

Opposition criticizes delay for snow clearing

The opposition leaderat city hall,Lionel Perez, criticizedParenteaufor not thinking of the safety of Montrealersin delaying snow clearing.

"Montrealers have been waiting five days for this decision, five days of having to face icy sidewalks and streets cluttered with snow,"Perez said.

He added that the city was only delaying cleaning up after the storm to save money.

Parenteaucountered that the Plante-Dorais administration is "not worried about the budget when it comes to people" and said the city hasbeen putting abrasives, like gravel, on the ground all week.