NORTH BAY - On a day that saw incumbent Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli sent to North Bay Regional Health Centre after the vehicle in which he was a passenger was involved in a crash with a transport truck, commercial motor vehicle safety should have been top of mind for the visiting provincial party leaders — especially Fedeli's boss, Doug Ford.
Fedeli is fine. Ford even gave him a shout-out from his debate podium.
When moderator Markus Schwabe changed the topic to northern highway safety, not one of the leaders — Bonnie Crombie (Liberal), Ford (PC), Mike Schreiner (Green) or Marit Stiles (NDP) — mentioned the carnage on northern highways in recent years due, at least in part, to seemingly unprepared and ill-trained commercial motor vehicle operators.
"Highways 17 and 11 are northern Ontario's 400 system," Schwabe said when setting the table for the debate participants. "But in the north, they're mostly two-lane highways. They're often shut down for hours, sometimes days, because of winter storms and collisions. What is your strategy to increase the safety of our northern highways?"
Marit Stiles
"It is tough to get around on the roads in the north, no question. You are taking your life in your hands to get anywhere. Northerners also rely more on highways than anywhere else in the province."
"Doug Ford will always put private profits ahead of public good, and we see that when it comes to our highways. Privatized highway maintenance has been a complete disaster. So first of all, as premier, I'm going to bring winter road maintenance back in-house and back under public government control — provincial control."
"Let's also remember that when it comes to improving highways, there was money for improving highways up here but Doug Ford took 158 million of those dollars that was earmarked for widening Highways 11 and 17 and moved that money down to southern Ontario for other projects. "Maybe he thinks it'll help with this fake tunnel under the 401 but look, we're going to bring that money back to the north. We're going to widen Highways 11 and 17 as well as Highway 69 and we're going to build the Cochrane bypass too."
Doug Ford
"We're undertaking one of the largest projects in the north: expanding Highways 11 and 17. And by the way, these three parties voted against it. We're building 18 new rest stops for truck drivers across the province. We're bringing back the Northlander, thanks to my friend Vic Fedeli. The Liberals cancelled it, we're bringing it back. We launched Ontario 511, so northern drivers can get real-time information on snow clearing, and by the way, I love the people out there clearing the snow. We've invested over $600 million to repair and expand highways. They voted against it. We also invested nearly $150 million on winter maintenance. They voted against it."
Mike Schreiner
"So, let's be clear with northerners, every time the Ford government says, 'Hey, we're going to spend 10 to 12 plus billion dollars building Highway 413 in southern Ontario, when there's a perfectly good highway right next to it, or tens of billions of dollars tunnelling under the 401 instead of investing in immediate solutions to gridlock — like paying the tolls of truckers on the 407, it means the money for widening highway 11, 17, and finishing 69 go down the priority list because it goes up in the south."
"So, we need to have safe highways in northern Ontario. We need to have divided highways in northern Ontario, and in the interim, we need to come up with innovative solutions, such as the two-plus-one dividers that the Timiskaming Shores Chamber of Commerce has put forward as ways that we can immediately, at a low cost, improve safety while we're waiting for longer-term solutions like divided highways."
Bonnie Crombie
"As you all know, I'm a new Liberal leader, and I'm not taking responsibility for decisions made previously. I support the Northlander. It should never have been closed, and we'll be sure to open it because he hasn't gotten it done in the past seven years.
"Your municipalities need to be provided with the sustainable funding you need for your roads. These are critical networks for you. They're life and death for the flow of people, for the flow of goods — and we're moving our children, as well. We'd put in the two-plus-one on Highway 11 and 17, and expand 68 kilometres of Highway 69.
"There's a lot of work to be done, but you need the snow clearance as well. And, I imagine the municipalities' budgets for snow clearing are through the roof. They should be cleared within the first 12 hours down to the bare pavement to make the road safe because they're treacherous. I know it and you know it and they're treacherous in the summer, as well."
The four party leaders were scheduled by hosts for media availability sessions on the debate stage at Canadore College and three met their commitments. Seeking an expanded post-debate answer on northern highway safety and transport licensing from Doug Ford, the media members were informed the PC leader had another event to attend and had left the building.
In late January, before the snap election was called, Ford's minister of transportation stuck to the talking points as he was asked to explain the government's northern road safety strategy.
Earlier this week, the Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors (NOLUM) went public with its priorities, including a demand for four-lane highway expansions.
The campaign trail leads to another debate on Monday, Feb. 17 — Family Day — organized by a consortium of broadcasters including Global News, CBC, CTV, TVO, CHCH, CPAC, CityNews and CP24, and moderated by CBC host David Common.
All four major party leaders have confirmed their participation in this debate.
