Worried about driving conditions on Northern highways? Read this

NEWS RELEASE

ONTARIO NDP

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NDP asks motorists to report dangerous roads
 
QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario's New Democrats are asking drivers in Northern Ontario to help put together a record of all the provincial highways that are poorly maintained this winter.
 
The new NDP Northern Road Report will compile the reports from the people who use our roads day in and day out, and who suffer the consequences when things go wrong.
 
“In December, we provided the Ministry of Transportation with real examples of closures and accidents caused by poorly cleared roads in ridings across the North. Not only has the Ministry not responded to the concerned motorists in our ridings but there is no indication that a review is taking place,” said NDP Transportation Critic Gilles Bisson.
 
“We will not stop until there is action taken to address the issue of the reduction of highway clearing standards for contractors, and to do that we need to hear about all the problem roads from the people who see it first hand. We will keep up the pressure on the Liberal minority government to take the situation seriously,” said Bisson, MPP Timmins-James Bay.
 
Drivers can submit reports about roads in poor driving condition [via] e-mail  or in French.
 
Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli put out an open letter last week blaming the Conservative governments of the 1990s for the problems we are facing today.
 
“This isn’t the time for petty party politics and playing the blame game. The McGuinty Liberals have been in power since 2003 and they must take responsibility for the current state of the roads. Every day we see that the roads that the minister deems safe are actually not safe at all,” commented Bisson.
 
The NDP Northern Road Report was spearheaded by John Vanthof, MPP Timiskaming Cochrane.

Bisson and Vanthof are working closely with their Northern colleagues on the issue, including France Gélinas, MPP Nickel Belt, and Michael Mantha, MPP Algoma-Manitoulin.

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