An emotional plea in the Ontario Legislature to improve the safety of northern highways comes from Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof.
He read a letter from the man whose eight-month pregnant fiancée and their unborn son were killed when a tractor-trailer blew a red light last week, on Highway 11 through New Liskeard. The pregnant friend with her lost her baby, and was put into an induced coma.
“To us, this is our Humboldt,” said the NDP MPP. “And I know if this was Question Period, (the government would say) ‘We have the safest roads in North America.’ Well, you know what? Highway 11 in Northern Ontario isn’t the safest road in North America. And neither is 17.”
Vanthof said it’s the government’s job to make sure licenced transport drivers are qualified and that roads are as safe as possible.
“And I know we can’t fix it in one day. But we need to make concrete steps so Alex’s fiancée and baby (and her) friend’s baby didn’t die in vain.”