Chow says city staff ‘failed’ in handling of record Toronto snowstorm

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow addresses a report on 'systemic failure' in city's snow-clearing operation, and ignoring of residents' needs.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says city staff “failed in their job” during this year’s record-breaking snowstorm, pointing to broken plows, ignored 311 calls, and misleading public updates as neighbourhoods remained buried in snow for weeks.

Chow’s made the comment to reporters ahead of an executive committee meeting where a review of the city’s response to back-to-back-to-back February storms was scheduled to be discussed. The review, conducted by city staff, found that while the city’s snow clearing works during routine weather, its procedures “face systemic gaps” during major storms — issues Chow says have been “ignored” and reflect a “failed culture.”

“The sole response to the snowstorm… failed my expectations,” Chow said.

“The city staff in charge with managing the snow clearance failed in their job. They had no idea what was happening out in the field.”

‘They ignored 99.83 per cent’ of calls

In the first half of February, Toronto saw more than 94 centimetres of snow, which marked about 30 per cent more snow than the city would normally get during that time.

The series of storms, which alone dumped more than 50 centimetres of snow on the city over the span of just days, prompted a council-ordered review after widespread complaints about unplowed sidewalks and inaccessible roads.

On Wednesday, Chow said that of the 29,000 snow-related 311 calls logged during the storm, staff responded to just 51.

“Worst of all, the staff team received 29,000 calls for help… and they ignored 99.83 per cent of them,” Chow said.

Equipment issues also plagued operations, with city contractors using incorrect machinery that broke down mid-storm, Chow said.

“The snow plows broke down when we needed them most because the staff allowed privately contracted companies to use the wrong machines, despite the contract specifying which machines to use,” Chow said.

‘We must fix this failed culture’

The review, ordered by City Manager Paul Johnson and released last week, found Toronto’s winter maintenance program generally works but faces ”systemic gaps” that limit efforts during major snow events.

Chow said both reports exposed “errors that were not fixed over the years, despite four previous investigations into the city’s snow removal processes.”

She described inspection logs as incomplete, missing signatures, or skipped entirely, and criticized Toronto for failing to adopt more reliable equipment like Montreal and Calgary’s more specialized plows.

“I will accept (the city manager’s) recommendations as the first step to address this systemic failure,” she said. “We must fix this failed culture of ignoring residents’ basic needs.”