Montreal’s rat problem worsens despite city’s promise to tackle it

A rat crosses Montreal resident James Klein's property. Klein says the rats outside his home have stopped him from eating outside all summer. Share Save for later Please log in to bookmark this story. Log In Create Free Account

The rats took over James Klein’s backyard this spring.

He’d never had a rat problem in the more than two decades he’s lived in Montreal’s Snowdon neighbourhood. But now, when he watches TV in his family room, he sees them out of the corner of his eye, scurrying around outside the glass door leading onto his back deck.

“There’s no way to even describe what it’s like,” he said.

Klein doesn’t know why the rats suddenly appeared. He thinks they may have been displaced when the city dug up some of the pipes in his neighbourhood earlier this y