An northern Ontario MPP wants Highways 17 and 11 brought under the same classification as highways in southern Ontario.
Guy Bourgoin is pushing the provincial government to take action.
A reclassification would mean snow being removed within eight hours of a storm.
Bourgoin says, “The privatization and deregulation of winter highway maintenance has had a negative impact on the conditions of our roads. It has cost money and above all it has cost many lives.”
The representative of Mushkegowuk-James Bay adds, “From Kenora to North Bay. Winter closures kill people and are an economic harm to the region. We have so many closures we can’t keep count.”
Bourgoin stresses northern Ontario needs these highways to be Class 1.
(With files from Randy Thoms)
