A citizen complained to the Ombudsman de Montréal so the City resume the cleaning and clearing of catch basins located in his alley. These catch basins were blocked and, at the dawn of the strong autumn rains, the bordering residents feared their overflow and damages to their basements.
These catch basins had always been maintained by Ville de Montréal but Arrondissement Le Plateau-Mont-Royal had stopped doing this, after realizing they were located in a private alley.
Our investigation showed that these catch basins had been built by the City, that they are connected to the municipal network of sewer and that they had always been cleaned by the City.
Under the circumstances, the Ombudsman came to the conclusion that the borough’s decision was not fair and, moreover, that is was likely to engage the liability of Ville de Montréal if, by overflowing, their water damaged the properties of the bordering citizens. For the Ombudsman, the fact that these basins had been built by the City who had maintained them afterwards overrided the fact that they were located in a private alley.
Following her intervention, the borough accepted to resume the regular maintenance of the said catch basins and it quickly “unblocked” them. The citizen was greatly relieved.
