NDP MPPs call for improved winter highway maintenance

KENORA — A trio of NDP MPPs are calling on the Ford government to improve winter highway conditions.

Party finance critic Catherine Fife and economic development critic Terence Kernaghan joined deputy leader Sol Mamakwa for a Monday news conference in Kenora, as the government held a pre-budget consultation in the northwestern Ontario city.

"Northern Ontarians are consistently impacted by inadequate winter road maintenance on Highways 11 and 17. Seven people have lost their lives on Northwestern Ontario roads in the last two months. Insufficient road safety standards frequently lead to closures, traffic delays, and in the most tragic cases, accidents and fatalities," Fife said in a news release. "The Ford Conservatives continue to fail to prioritize the safety of Northern Ontarians."

Last year, the province announced it was enhancing the snow clearing standard for Highway 11 and Highway 17, requiring contractors to have the roadways cleared to bare pavement within 12 hours of the end of a winter storm. That was a four-hour improvement from the previous standard, which was 16 hours.

The NDP has twice introduced legislation to have the given Class 1 designation, which would have an eight-hour clearing requirement that matches the 400 series in southern Ontario. Those bills were defeated in the legislature.

"I will continue looking for effective ways to address highway maintenance standards in my community," Mamakwa said in a statement in the news release. "We deserve the same quality of roads as Southern Ontario drivers. I will continue to fight until the job is done."