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London calls Winnipeg for advice on snow

People walk past a snowman lying on the ground backdropped by Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament's clock tower, in Parliament Square, in London on Monday.

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People walk past a snowman lying on the ground backdropped by Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament's clock tower, in Parliament Square, in London on Monday. (AKIRA SUEMORI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

When the British Broadcasting Corporation needs an expert on snow-clearing, they know who to call: Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz.

On Monday afternoon, when parts of England lay under a blanket of snow, BBC Radio 4 called up Katz to gain a perspective on civic snow-clearing – and more specifically, how Winnipeg manages to do what much larger London can not.

Katz graciously told British radio audiences Winnipeg does well because our city expects snow, while British cities do not. He also said Winnipeg has the best snow-clearing in North America and took a mild shot at Toronto – albeit not by name – by noting some other Canadian cities must call in the military to deal with a heavy dump of snow.

The BBC host, however, committed the same error most broadcasters east of Winnipeg tend to make: She pronounced our mayor’s surname "cats" instead of "cates."

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