Montreal to pay more for de-icing salt
Shortage, demand push prices up
Montreal will pay 28 per cent more for road salt to de-ice its streets this year, victim to a North American shortage caused by last year’s unexpectedly harsh winter.
At about $18 million a year, road salt accounts for slightly more than 10 per cent of the roughly $150 million the city pays to clear its streets each year. It is one of the city’s largest annual recurring costs.
The city’s head of purchasing, Pierre Gatineau, presented an overview of the road salt situation to the city’s executive committee on Wednesday to explain why the city was suddenly paying $74 a tonne for road salt compared to $58 last year. Montreal is purchasing 196,000 tonnes of road salt this year. Transport Quebec, responsible for highways and roadways in the province, will purchase 780,000 tonnes.
Many North American municipalities and other public administrations did not stock up on road salt last year based on weather forecasts. Salt mines laid off staff for lack of demand. Forty-three per cent of salt produced on the continent goes to road salt.
Instead of the predicted temperatures, snowbelt states south of Montreal weathered their coldest winter since 1979. Quebec registered its coldest winter in 20 years, and the fourth coldest since meteorological records have been kept. There was a run on road salt, and some mines have not been able to replenish their stock. This year, many North American cities, states and provinces have increased their demand for fear of running out again, Gatineau said. Less stock combined with increased demand has resulted in 28 per cent higher costs for Montreal.
Gatineau said Montreal pays 17 per cent less than other Quebec municipalities, on average. That is because of changes in city contract and purchasing rules established in 2008, which allowed for bids from three suppliers as opposed to only one, and a contract that supplies salt to all of the island’s 19 boroughs, 15 demerged cities and the Société de transport de Montréal. Montreal’s prices dropped nearly 20 per cent between 2011 and 2013, saving the city $11 million over three years, Gatineau said. Hydro-Québec and trees: Mayor Denis Coderre met with Hydro-Québec’s Thierry Vandal on Wednesday to discuss, among other matters, concerns over trees being cut down to make way for power lines.
Last November, residents living near two north-end nature parks were up in arms over the provincial utility’s plans to cut 209 trees to make way for high-power transmission lines. Residents and environmental groups close to the Bois-de-Liesse and Bois-de-Saraguay parks said the power utility should trim, not clear-cut.
“It’s a monopoly, the law is on there side in matters of development, but that doesn’t mean they can do whatever they want,” Coderre said. His meeting would focus on better communication and negotiation. Homelessness: The city will present its action plan to tackle the homeless issue Thursday. Originally promised two weeks ago, Coderre said it had to be delayed to accommodate the wishes of some parties. Coderre said Thursday’s announcement would be an “important first step in an evolving picture” that would outline better co-ordination among affected parties like mental health support facilities, police and social workers, and better resources. The plan is a “work in progress” that will be continuously refined, Coderre said.