Canada plays major role in rebuilding Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa

Hundreds of Canadians are assisting with relief efforts in Jamaica, including power line technicians who are helping to repair the damaged electricity grid.

CTV News Montreal 5 p.m. Anchor Maya Johnson travelled to Jamaica to see the devastation and document the relief and rebuilding efforts. This is the third part of a three-part series.

From the Canadian Armed Forces to the Canadian Red Cross and power line technicians from across the country, Canada has been playing an integral role in relief efforts in Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

In a speech to parliament after the Category 5 hurricane made landfall last October, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness called it “one of the most punishing natural disasters in our modern history.”

• READ MORE: Travelling to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa; CTV News Montreal Anchor Maya Johnson reflects

JPS, Jamaica’s electricity provider, hired Greystone, a private company based in New Brunswick with offices in Quebec and Ontario, to help with the massive operation of getting power back to everyone on the island.

“I’ve talked to some guys with all kinds of experience from across the country, and we’ve never seen anything like this. This is historic. It must have been terrifying to be here when the storm came through,” said Steve Gorman, storm manager for Greystone. “The Black River area, I’ve never seen devastation like that before. It almost looks like a war zone.”

“People not only lost their houses, they lost their jobs because their businesses are gone. They have no business to go back to, to work and make money and support themselves. It’s a tough one when you talk to people. It really is. They get emotional, and it’s really hard,” he added.

When the hurricane hit, more than three-quarters of JPS customers were knocked off the grid.

Three months later, there are Jamaicans in rural areas who still don’t have power – as of Jan. 28, the number stands at six per cent of clients waiting for electricity, down from 77 per cent last October. 

On Jan. 2, as more than 100 additional Greystone trucks arrived at the Port of Kingston, Jamaican officials expressed their gratitude.

“It is a wonderful sight to see the trucks and crews being organized to leave this location to go to Western Jamaica to augment the efforts there,” said Holness, flanked by JPS officials and cabinet ministers Fayval Williams and Daryl Vaz.

“I won’t say happy new year, I’ll say hopeful new year based on what we’re seeing this morning,” said Vaz, minister of energy, transport and telecommunications.

Along with Greystone, New Brunswick-based Holland Power Services and Quebec-based Entreprises électriques Angers (EEA) have all contributed to rebuilding Jamaica’s electricity grid.

“It’s a proud moment for Canada,” said Louis Leger, a member of Greystone’s leadership team. “Over 300 Canadians are here helping rebuild the electricity system, and we’re fortunate that Canada has expertise in that category. We have line workers from every province in Canada.”

Leger took CTV News on a tour of Greystone’s headquarters, set up on Jamaica’s south coast.

• READ MORE: Rebuilding Jamaica: Survivors of Hurricane Melissa look to future

It includes a mobile kitchen, which allows the company to provide workers with three meals a day.

The menu even includes a Quebec classic: poutine.

“Even though we’re Acadians, we know our Quebec friends love poutine,” Leger said with a laugh.

Repentigny to Montego Bay

Quebec-born Marie Imbault, a francophone raised in Repentigny on Montreal’s North Shore, is one of many Jamaican residents who dealt with the daily struggle of getting by without electricity.

“At first, there were no stores that were open because there was no electricity or generators,” said Imbault, who didn’t have electricity for 48 days. “We couldn’t even get gas at the gas station. You could wait five, six hours to get a little bit of gas.”

Imbault has been living in Montego Bay for the past 15 years, making her living as a bilingual tour guide.

She also has rooms for rent on her property and offers jewelry-making workshops in her backyard.

She said she decided to use Jamaican patois for the name of her business: “A Mi Mek It.”

“It means ‘I made it’ or in Québécois, ‘C’est moi qui l’a fait,’” said Imbault.

Imbault said her home and business took a major hit after Hurricane Melissa, a little over a year after she dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.

After Melissa said she made the difficult decision to send her three children, aged 11, 14 and 18, to stay with family in Quebec.

“It’s still raining in the house,” said Imbault, fighting tears. “It wasn’t really safe for them to stay, and I just thought it was better for them to be in an environment – even though it’s really cold – where they’re going to continue to be in school, and they’re going to be having a routine that’s safe and dry.”

Recovery and resilience

As power line technicians continue to work up to 16 hours a day in the sweltering heat to help families like Imbault’s, Greystone management says they are impressed by what they’ve witnessed.

“You know, they [Jamaicans] just get up and do what they need to do, and they’re rebuilding. It gives you a sense of community and culture that I did not fully appreciate before I came here,” said Leger. “You can see the hurt, but at the same time, you can see that people didn’t feel sorry for themselves. People use the word resilience here a lot.”

• READ MORE: Jamaica turns to tourism to help rebuild after Hurricane Melissa

Gorman shared his colleague’s views.

“They’re a very resilient people. They say Jamaica will rise again, and I have no doubt about it,” said Gorman. “That’s their mindset, that they will rise again, and you can see it in their eyes. They see us here now, they know we’re helping.”