School was cancelled in much of the southern part of Quebec province as freezing rain made roads and sidewalks treacherous. Many school boards in Canada make allowances for two or three so-called snow days every winter—days when they have to cancel because of very heavy snowfalls.
Who will take care of the kids?
This complicates life for parents. In many families, both parents work so there is no one home to take care of children when school is cancelled. In such cases, parents may call on grandparents, relatives, neighbours, or if their employers are flexible they may book a vacation day off work or bring children to the office.
All school boards in the city of Montreal cancelled classed today, as did several in other regions of the province. The storm started yesterday evening and 10 millimetres more of freezing rain could yet fall.
Province is well-equipped
The province of Quebec is well-equipped with snow removal trucks and vehicles that spread salt or other abrasives on roads and sidewalks. But it takes some time to get the work done and the timing of this bout of freezing rain made roads icy for the morning rush hour.
Twenty years ago, nearly five million Canadians in southeastern Quebec, eastern Ontario and parts of the Maritimes were battered by three successive waves of freezing rain between Jan. 5 and 10. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces walk to their headquarters in Westmount on Friday, January 9, 1998. The military are to assist at shelters. This is the fifth day of freezing rain in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Robert Galbraith
A chill down some spines
The storm brings back bad memories for some. The ice storm of 1998 lasted several days, toppling massive electrical pylons and causing widespread power failures across the province. In some regions, the outages lasted for weeks.
Staying warm was a challenge. Many people have central heating powered by electricity. But even gas or oil furnaces need electricity to start.
The storm affected neighbouring provinces and 35 people died.
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