NDP on the road highlighting northern highway safety concerns
Ontario’s opposition is taking a road trip.
Some New Democrat MPPs left Queen’s Park in Toronto on Tuesday for their northern highway tour.
They’ll be listening to communities, documenting concerns, and pushing the government to act before more lives are lost.
Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof says they’re taking Highway 11 to the Manitoba border, then returning on Highway 17 to show what driving those roads are really like and why they need to be modernized and expanded.
“It’s the weak link in our country regarding cross-country travel,” he says. “For trucks, for passengers, it’s the weak link. Everyone knows it is and we have to acknowledge that and work together.”
Vanthof also says the road to the Ring of Fire comes out on the worst stretch of the highway.
“If you’re really serious about Northern Ontario and how significant Northern Ontario is and you’re really serious about protecting this country from the threats it faces in other places, this isn’t a here-and-there kind of thing, it’s let’s get it finished, let’s get it built,” he says.
NDP Leader Marit Styles says one of the conversations being had at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention is how are they going to get all the heavy machinery to the Ring of Fire on the current roads.
“What is it going to mean for the existing highways we have right now, which are already in a terrible state,” she says. “They’re already dangerous.”
Stiles is joining the tour from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste Marie.
The road trip stops in at Twiggs on Cartier Street in North Bay on Tuesday evening.
They’re also venturing to Timmins, Kapuskasing, Thunder Bay, Kenora, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, and more.
Richard Coffinhttps://www.mynorthbaynow.com/Richard Coffin has been a reporter and news anchor on the radio in North Bay for over 25 years. From premiers to people in the neighbourhood, he enjoys connecting with newsmakers and writing stories that matter to area listeners on a variety of topics including healthcare, education, politics, sports and more.
