The job of any elected official is to work for the people who voted for them.
That's what Anjou Mayor Luis Miranda said he was doing when he ordered snow-clearing operations to start almost immediately following the freezing rain storm that left Montreal coated in a thick layer of ice.
"Wednesday morning at city council I got up and I said listen we have to do something about this," Miranda told CJAD 800's Leslie Roberts this morning. "I talked about the security of citizens. (Verdun Mayor, Jean-Francois) Parenteau got up and more or less told me to shut up, you know, indirectly, and that they know what they are doing. OK fine, well we have the result today."
Miranda, who has been Mayor of Anjou since 1997, said letting Mother Nature handle the snow and ice in January was not an option because people were trapped in their homes due to the ice built up on sidewalks.
"Winter is not finished," Miranda said. "Let's not anticipate, saying how its going to melt. Yeah, its going to melt in May."
Despite Miranda's good intentions, the central city was not happy Anjou jumped the gun on snow-clearing and sent him a disciplinary letter stating Anjou was not authorized to remove snow and ice ahead of schedule.
According to the letter Miranda only has permission to carry out snow-clearing when the central city says so and that his borough would have to cover all costs related to the operation.
"I won't pay it," the long-time Mayor said, insisting he was looking out for the security of his constituents and will not be told what to do by city officials he believes are not properly doing their job.
"The law states that the mayor is responsible for the security of their constituents," he said. I have sufficient pictures to show that the safety of my constituents could be in danger. So I declared it and they cannot override that."
"If Mr. Miranda acted, and he did, its to his credit," said St. Laurent mayor Alan Desousa, who jumped to the defense of his fellow borough mayor. "It would not be right, nor fair, to penalizing him when he acted for the best interest of his residents."
Following the storm city crews spread salt and abrasives, but many Montrealers complained it was not enough as they slipped and fell while trying to go about their days.
The decision, which the city later admitted was a bad one, led to an increase in calls for ice related falls for Montreal paramedics.
On Monday sidewalks across the majority of Montreal still looked like mini skating rinks, despite residents making repeated calls to their borough's office.
Some have even gone as far as taking snow removal into their own hands as they wait for city trucks to pass by and do the job Miranda has already done in Anjou.