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Joyce outraged with special treatment for roads program Says Rideout must put safety above politics August 12, 2005
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Eddie Joyce, MHA for the District of Bay of Islands, is
outraged with comments made by Minister Tom Rideout concerning emergency
repairs needed on Route 440 in McIver’s. Joyce says he has evidence that a
double standard exists in the way road work decisions are made in this
province and he wants Minister Rideout to explain his own statements and
those being made by other Conservative MHAs. Joyce was referring to comments made in an August 12, 2005 news release issued by Minister Rideout indicating that a greater percentage of the road budget will be spent in Conservative districts. A recent newspaper article (Clarenville Packet, August 1, 2005) also quotes three backbench Conservative MHA’s claiming to have control over an "individual district highway budget". "In an August 1st news release, Minister Rideout spoke about the use of proper process and protocol for prioritizing road work in the province," said Joyce. "I spoke to the Minister personally, wrote two letters, issued two news releases and spoke to local media about the condition of the road in this area. I have followed all proper protocol in bringing this issue to the Minister’s attention, yet he has refused to initiate emergency repairs to this section of highway on Route 440. The Minister is misleading the public by saying he was not aware of the dangerous part of the highway in McIver’s. "In his release today, the Minister is openly admitting that patronage and stubbornness is the main reason why the road to McIver’s hasn’t been repaired. It is now clear that all districts are not being treated equally when making decisions about road work. The newspaper article and today’s news release clearly indicate that PC members are not only being treated differently, but they are openly bragging about having control over a certain portion of the budget for the districts they represent." The Liberal MHA has been trying for months to get the Minster of Transportation, Tom Rideout, to allocate funding to deal with a serious safety issue on the road to McIver’s on the north shore of the Bay of Islands. "This section of road is crumbling, its condition is very dangerous and must be repaired immediately before a serious accident occurs. "The Minister refuses to admit that officials in his department have put forth a recommendation to fix the road. The Minister is clearly not being honest with the residents using this road and I demand that he explain his comments and move forward with emergency repairs immediately."
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