The city of Montreal has rejected a motion from the opposition requiring its suppliers to have sideguards on their trucks by the new year but it's promising the measure will come in the next few months.
That`s not good enough for the mother whose daughter, 21-year-old Jessica died after being hit by a snow-removal truck in 2005 in Westmount.
Jeannette Holman-Price said that she doesn't understand why there's been no action on this measure and that she feels she's been betrayed by Mayor Valerie Plante and other politicians.
Holman-Price said she has the same message as she did for Plante`s predecessor, Denis Coderre.
"What are you going to say to the next family of a dead person because of your inaction, will you resign?" said Holman-Price in an interview with CJAD 800.
The Plante administration said at yesterday's council meeting that the January 1 deadline is too tight to include the requirement in new contracts and that the costs might be too high for some companies. It also said it wanted to discuss the matter with suppliers.
Holman-Price contends that other cities such as St. John's have done it in a relatively short period of time.
"The cost of a sideguard, it's pennies, it's the same, it's actually less than the cost of a tire. How dare they say that these human lives are not worth a tire?" said Holman-Price.
The city of Montreal installed sideguards on its own trucks last year.
Of the 21 fatal road accidents so far this year in the city, four involved heavy trucks.