Quebec sets aside more than $100K to look into Highway 13 fiasco
The Quebec government will devote two months and $106,000 to understanding how several hundred people were left stranded on Highway 13 during a snowstorm earlier this month.
That's the budget and time frame available for Florent Gagné, a former deputy minister appointed by Premier Philippe Couillard to look into the epic traffic jam, according to information obtained by La Presse Canadienne.
The report needs to be submitted by May 25.
Gagné himself will get $56,000, while he has another $50,000 to bring in other experts to work on the study.
More than 300 people were stuck on the Montreal highway for nearly 12 hours overnight between March 14 and 15 in what is now commonly referred to as a cafouillage, or mess.
Later that week, Couillard apologized for the government's poor response and said he saw "serious shortcomings in how people worked together" to deal with the situation.
- TIMELINE | How did 300 cars come to be trapped overnight?
The report will focus on the timeline of events and how authorities communicated with one another. The report will be made public.
It will also offer recommendations for how such a situation can be avoided in future.
