High fuel costs could raise the price tag for a snow removal contract this winter. Snow clearing companies say they are trying not to pass the full increase onto clients. A family-run business since 2006, MICO Incorporated now clears 2000 properties of snow in the Ste-Dorothee and Chomedy areas of Laval. President Mike Michos says they fit their equipment to the job, trying not to overspend on resources. “A bigger snowfall will use the front blade to pull it out on the street and then blow it off the side.” The problem is his fleet of snow-clearing machines all take diesel. “The fuel has risen about 70 per cent. And the issue with that is that it is a big spike for our season this year,” he said. He’s only passing a fraction of that increase onto his clients, saying, “It’s not that we’re giving a 70 per cent increase; we’re giving a 10 per cent. It’s a 15 per cent increase.” Jean-Roch Cardinal of the Association des Déneigeurs Résidentiels et Commerciaux du Québec says that’s the average increase. “The prices are rising because of the fuel and because of the price of the machinery. So like, engine oil is rising...and filters,” Cardinal said. Michos says cost-cutting measures will help his business, like a cap on service. “We have a clause in our and our snow removal where if we can if we if we surpass the 220 centimeters in the season, then there’s an extra surcharge according to our contract,” Michos said. Other snow clearing companies CTV News spoke with said they’ll stop extra visits like “courtesy passes” to reduce the amount of fuel the fleet uses. Still, it adds up for homeowners in this area of Laval. Michos says, depending on the size of equipment used, “a single driveway. You’re looking at about $400. A double driveway. It would be about 500.” Cardinal says depending on Mother Nature, this could be a “make it or break it” year for some snow-clearing companies. “Most of the enterprises that they are serious in business, they raise a bit, and they will be there for this year and the next years.” With high fuel prices almost a certainty, the only unknown now is how much snowfall to expect this winter.
