Ontario residents say they remain trapped for third day due to blizzard
As the city struggles to clear snow from the streets and sidewalks after Monday’s massive snowstorm, some Toronto residents say they remain trapped in their homes, unable to leave because there is no safe path.
Manuel Diaz, a resident of Holton Road, woke up for a third morning to find their street was still not plowed. He said he couldn’t get his car out and had to call a cab to get to the hospital for a checkup.
“I’ve not gone to work for two days,” he said
Plows started arriving in that area just before noon on Wednesday but other areas are still waiting.
“I tried to call city council nobody answered,” another resident told CTV News Toronto. “I tried to call 311 nobody answered, and we're still waiting for the snowplowing.”
For those with disabilities, the huge mounds of snow present a major mobility problem that can stop them in their tracks as they try to get around the city.
Allison Brown is legally blind and walks with the help of guide dog Ellis. But he can’t help her get over the snow.
“I’ve fallen several times already,” she said. “I feel with my feet. I know where I can cross, where the dip is in the sidewalk. With the piles of snow I have no chance. I have no idea what is underfoot at all.”
She implored the city, and the owners of property, to fully clear the snow so that she and Ellis can walk side by side — otherwise she says she can’t make a journey at all.
It’s generally the responsibility of the property owner to clear sidewalks, with a $135 fee in Toronto if you don’t do it within 12 hours after a snowfall stops.
A new plan by the city to clear about 1500 km of sidewalks with smaller plows is ramping up — but the city has only obtained 35 of the 50 plows it ordered to be purchased last summer.
Toronto Mayor John Tory said Wednesday morning that crews are working around the clock to plow all the streets, but that some residential areas haven’t been touched in 48 hours.
“Our staff are doing a great job. They're working 24 hours a day, they have hundreds of people and trucks and all kinds of equipment doing this so we're going to get this job done and I can just tell the woman who's written from Scarborough and others that the job will get done and it is getting done,” Tory said.
A total of 55 centimetres of snow fell in Toronto throughout the day on Monday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.