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Des employés de la Ville de Montréal ont choisi la première neige pour étaler de la tourbe. Bravo. #polmtl pic.twitter.com/mhXvUpByvU — Thomas Gerbet (@ThomasGerbet) November 21, 2016

Their efforts irked some on social media, suggesting the landscape job would be in vain come spring. “What madness is this?” asked one Twitter user, using dollar signs to reinforce his point.

The city of Montreal was accused by some of being poorly organized, with a city spokesman demanding the contract workers be penalized if the company was late in laying down the sod.

So, was Ottawa wrong to lay sod at this time of year?

Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia Network

Ideal times to lay sod are typically late summer or fall, but Ritchie Feed & Seed’s senior sales expert Peter Boettger says cold is not sod’s enemy, it’s heat.

“You can take a piece of sod in November and roll it and defrost it in the spring and everything is going to be fine,” said Boettger. “It’s heat that’s the destroyer of sod, not the cold. It should take root. So there’s nothing to worry about, your tax dollars are not being wasted today.”