As Montreal's first significant snow of the season continued to fall, workers were seeing laying down grass along the median on René-Lévesque Blvd.
And for many Montrealers who like to complain about the lack of snowplows and salt trucks on the city's thoroughfares, the photos now being shared widely on social media seem rather bizarre indeed.
There is an explanation, however.
First of all, a spokesperson for the downtown Ville-Marie borough says, the people laying down the grass were not blue collar workers, but workers with a private firm that was hired over the summer to refurbish some of the city's streets in preparation for next summer's Formula E race, which is scheduled to happen in July through the streets of Montreal.
It appears, too, the the city forbid the crews from carrying out the job on Monday, and that the contractor was warned he wouldn't get paid for that work if it was to be carried out on Monday.
Meanwhile, the people responsible for making walking and driving on our streets and sidewalks tolerable during the winter months insist that the plows and salt trucks were out and about in most Montreal boroughs on Sunday night into Monday morning.
A statement from the city suggests several factors weigh into each borough's decision to lay abrasives — including wet snow, and whether or not the ground is frozen.
On downtown streets, the operation began at 5 a.m., and will continue through the afternoon and into the night.