The northern MPP who’s been leading the fight for higher snow clearing standards on Highways 11 and 17 is mostly happy with last week’s announcement. The province says they’ll be plowed within 12 hours of a storm ending, down from 16.
“We have to admit it’s better than what we had, but we deserve better,” assesses Muskegowuk-James Bay New Democrat Guy Bourgoin. He says the province has to realize that the highways are our only links to school, work and medical appointments.
“We don’t have bypasses that we can use,” he adds. “We don’t have trains. We don’t have the subway. We don’t have all the other luxury that the cities have to be able to get to work or get to an appointment.”
“I’m going to continue putting pressure on the government to bring it down to eight hours as a Class 1 like the 400s and the QEW, because we deserve better than just 12 hours.”