Heavy Snow Slams Parts of Ontario and Quebec, Delays In-person Classes

A vehicle navigates the snow in Toronto, Ont., on Jan. 17, 2022. The Epoch Times

Some students’ return to in-person learning was delayed on Jan. 17 due to heavy snow and blizzards that slammed parts of Ontario and Quebec.

Environment Canada issued weather alerts for blizzards and strong winter storms in parts of the two provinces on Jan. 17, hitting major cities in Ontario like Toronto, Hamilton, and the Peel region with up to 40 to 60 centimetres of snow.

The storms left many Ontario school boards scrambling to adjust their plans to have students return to school, with the Toronto, York, Halton, Hamilton-Wentworth, and Ottawa-Carleton district school boards cancelling their planned return on Jan. 17, as the heavy snowfall forced a halt to school bus services.

The Toronto, York, and Ottawa-Carleton boards were still offering the option of remote learning, while the Hamilton-Wentworth and Halton District boards were not.

Parents and caregivers across southern and eastern Ontario are advised to check for online postings from their local school boards regarding closures and the availability of remote learning.

In Quebec, thousands of students were also planning on returning to school on Jan. 17 as the province lifts some of its COVID-19 measures. But several schools announced over the weekend they would not open their doors today due to the winter storm.

Some regions in Quebec were also impacted by heavy snow, with the blizzard in Gatineau expected to produce up to 50 cm of snow, with winds gusting up to 60 km/hr.

Meanwhile, a powerful winter storm that blew through parts of the Maritimes left thousands of residents in Nova Scotia without power over the weekend. Nova Scotia Power says it has 500 staff deployed in the field while bracing for another storm to hit the province this afternoon. The outages were scattered across the province, with the majority in Lunenburg County on the south shore.

A few areas in southeastern New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were also dealing with some scattered outages on the morning of Jan. 16.

The Canadian Press contributed to this article