‘Someone should be fired,’ Almost half of Toronto’s snow removal equipment was not operational during February snow storms

Nearly half of Toronto’s snow removal fleet was not operational during the February snowstorms due to maintenance issues, leaving Torontonians struggling to commute through piles of snow for weeks, a new report says.

The report was revealed during a city council meeting on Tuesday, after Councillor Jennifer McKelvie submitted an administrative inquiry to seek information on the snow events, which was also Toronto’s biggest snow storm since 2022. 

The report found that of the city’s 59 pieces of winter clearing equipment, only 34 pieces were operational and deployed on Feb. 8, 36 pieces on Feb. 12, and 26 on Feb. 15. 

According to the report, availability of assets averaged around 60 per cent due to running repairs, with 60 per cent of that average due to vehicle issues and 40 per cent due to operational issues. 

The news has left some Torontonians feeling upset and fed up as they reflect back on the snowy and often brutal weather conditions that February brought.

“It’s incredible to think that the City of Toronto could not keep their snow removal equipment in tip top shape, especially during the winter season. Someone should be fired,” an X user said.

“[The city of Toronto] is completely useless when it comes to doing snow ‘removal,'” another user added.

One X user asked the question, “How was this allowed to happen?”

The snow storms brought nearly 50 cm of snow to Toronto in early February, and resulted in more than 25,000 service requests to 311 between Feb 8. and March 13. The event has led to city staff calling for a review of winter maintenance operations which is set to be discussed at a city council meeting this week.

While the city did initially plan for the snow removal to take 21 days to complete, the report found that it took 18 days instead. 

According to the report, only 30 per cent of snow removal operations are done by transportation services in-house, with the remaining 70 per cent are performed by private contractors.

Mayor Olivia Chow voiced concerns about the contracts following the slow snow removal efforts in February, and called for a full review of them. 
Discussion on whether there are opportunities to improve the city’s contracts with contractors will also be discussed during this week’s council meeting.