Twenty-five Urban Forestry staff who provided assistance to the City of Winnipeg for the past two weeks are returning home today. The Toronto crews were helping with cleanup of storm damage after the Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba declared a state of emergency.
The crews from Toronto played a critical role in clearing tree hazards from significant portions of Winnipeg’s residential neighbourhoods, as well as in Kildonan Park, one of Winnipeg’s most heavily treed regional parks.
City of Toronto staff and equipment supported the ongoing efforts of Winnipeg, alongside crews from Edmonton, Saskatoon, Calgary and Regina, to mitigate weather effects of an uncharacteristic fall snow storm. The weather conditions resulted in mass power outages and damage to about 30,000 trees.
Along with its Urban Forestry crews, the City of Toronto sent 13 vehicles, including chipper trucks and aerial tower (bucket) trucks, and other forestry equipment.
The cost of the emergency assistance, which is still to be finalized, will be covered by the City of Winnipeg.
Quotes:
“We are glad to be able to help the City of Winnipeg through this challenging time. From the moment our crews arrived in Manitoba, they were welcomed warmly and truly appreciated by their fellow Canadians. We are so proud our City workers helped represent the goodwill of the City of Toronto to our friends and neighbours in Winnipeg. We welcome them back home and congratulate them on a job well done!”
– Toronto Mayor John Tory
“I am incredibly grateful for the support that Mayor Tory and Urban Forestry crews from the City of Toronto were able to provide us during a time of great need. The unprecedented weather event we experienced left us with a cleanup effort from downed trees that will last well into the new year. We’re thankful to all of the cities across Canada, including Toronto, for the assistance they provided.”
– Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman
Toronto is Canada’s largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of more than 2.9 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world’s most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cityoftoronto, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cityofto.