NORTH BAY - Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria paid a visit to North Bay on Monday to make a significant announcement about a $350-million deal involving Ontario Northland and Metrolinx.
Following the announcement, the dignitaries eschewed the traditional scrum session with media members and instead took questions with the help of a microphone and sound system before responding in kind. The shop floor was packed with Ontario Northland employees and administration.
The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario is responsible for driver and vehicle services, driver improvement, and commercial vehicle inspection; and enforces the statutes and regulations related to the operation of motor vehicles.
Sarkaria, also the MPP for Brampton South, succeeded Caroline Mulroney in September 2023. Jeff Yurek and John Yakabuski have also served as ministers of transportation since the Doug Ford-led Ontario PCs took office in 2018.
Find below the questions on northern highway safety and truck operator training posed to Sarkaria and his answers:
BayToday: Frankly, sir, not enough is being done in the north [on highway safety] and I wonder, without making this adversarial, have you ever driven the roads that we drive? Do you drive the road from Cochrane to Timmins or Batchawana Bay and Wawa or where all the carnage takes place with the transports that are driven by people who are clearly not trained to do so? Have you driven those roads, sir?
Sarkaria: Well, I was just up in Timmins on Friday and we drove to Iroquois Falls, just as an example, to announce additional dollars for one of the roads there that had been problematic in the past and it was a $20 million investment to help expand that.
You know, one of the other things our government has done is expand rest areas for those same individuals, the truck drivers. I think over 14 of them. Close to a $30 million investment on a scale, up in Thunder Bay and we're improving and increasing our transportation enforcement officers with a specific focus on the north, especially here in North Bay, Thunder Bay and Timmins.
Our focus is many different angles with respect to highway safety. Our government is committed to building the roads. We're committed to expanding the highways. We're committed to increasing enforcement officers. As well, for this year alone, there are 1,400 pieces of equipment on our roads to get those roads and highways cleared even faster and quicker. On top of that, overhauling that licensing process, and looking at ways in which, for example, for individuals who don't have experience on Ontario roads to have one year of that requirement before they can get a licence as a commercial trucking vehicle operator.
BayToday: Just a quick follow-up, in your travels around the north, did you find the highways to be acceptable?
Sarkaria: Well, look, weather can change. There are snow squalls that impact that. So from our perspective, my job as minister of transportation is to look at a variety of options and investments that could be made to continue to make those highways even safer.
We've made significant investments on Highway 11, on Highway 17 with the twinning of roads, the two-plus-one pilot that I mentioned. So there's a variety of methods that we continue to deploy along with working with our enforcement officials, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the transportation enforcement officers, but the north does pose unique challenges.
What is the Ministry of Transportation doing to make highways safer for driving in the north?
Sarkaria: We have deployed, this winter, over 1,400 pieces of equipment, across our highways. In fact, on the way up here, just late last night, we saw 14 of those plows in action past Parry Sound, just in that stretch to North Bay.
We've invested close to $100 million ... We've taken the feedback from the communities in the north, to see how we can better reform those contractors to get those highways paved even quicker, including incentivizing some of the staffing on those roads, as well as with the plows.
Clearing highways, OPP highway closures
Sarkaria: Our focus has been to get them cleared as quickly [as possible], working with our officials at the Ontario Provincial Police, who have been incredible. Ultimately they make a lot of decisions on closures but we work very closely with them to prevent that at all costs.
We also have, from a highway safety perspective, especially in North Bay, and I know Vic [Fedeli] has championed this quite a bit, is the two-plus-one pilot, which is happening just outside the city."
Commercial Motor Vehicle testing and training
Sarkaria: Ultimately, we're also looking at an overhaul of the training that goes into commercial vehicle licences such as trucks. One of my colleagues in the legislature has put forward a motion to require a year of Canadian driving experience before a commercial vehicle licence is granted to ensure that people have that appropriate understanding and appreciation of Canadian winters before they get behind [the wheel] of an 18-wheeler. So, we're looking at a variety of measures, but our commitment is there from both a safety perspective and — I have to add that from a North America-wide standard — we have the fastest clearing times of any other jurisdiction, but we'll continue to build upon that and continue to ensure that we have even safer highways and roads.