Highway blame game crosses the line

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This article was published 08/03/2022 (1459 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Politics is a mean game, but this goes too far.

During question period in the Manitoba legislature last Wednesday, Flin Flon NDP MLA Tom Lindsey suggested the Stefanson government is responsible for the accident that killed NDP MLA Danielle Adams last December.

In his first question, he said this: “As we all know, our friend and colleague Danielle Adams passed away as a result of a collision on Highway 6, December 9th, just south of Thompson.

“We should commit ourselves to ensuring highway con­di­tions on Highway 6 and other northern roadways are improved. Winter con­di­tions make travel difficult at the best of times. Now, with the added pressure of more heavy vehicles headed for winter roads and also headed for northern mines, the situation is just getting worse.

“Will the minister bring forward a plan to address concerns regarding Highway 6 and other northern highways, and will the minister commit to that today?”

That sounds like a reasonable question, but then, in his supplemental question, he said this: “Madam Speaker, mourning her loss and the other Manitobans who’ve lost their lives travelling on treacherous roads that aren’t maintained properly simply isn’t enough.

“Madam Speaker, dozens of positions in highway maintenance are vacant. It doesn’t matter what the budget is for snow clearing, there’s no people to do the work. Northern roads and highways like No. 6 are not being cleared quickly enough and are not being cleared properly. In some instances, travellers in both directions are forced to travel a narrow lane down the middle of the highway.

“Will the minister commit to filling those vacant positions today and ensure roadways are maintained?”

With that question, Lindsey blamed the provincial government for Adams’ death. It’s a serious accusation, but does it square with the facts as we know them?

No, it doesn’t.

I wrote about this exact issue 10 years ago (“Snow’s coming, and fewer plows on highways,” Nov. 1, 2012). That column is still available for viewing on the Free Press website.

In that piece, I discussed the Selinger government’s decision to eliminate the 11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. snow-clearing shift for the Trans-Canada and Perimeter highways, provincial highways 6, 10, 16, 59 and 75, and Inkster Boulevard during non-storm conditions.

As Lindsey indicated, Adams was driving on Highway 6 when the collision between a semi and Adams’ car happened.

In my 2012 column, I asked these questions: “If an accident happens on a blustery winter night in rural Manitoba and a victim requires urgent medical care that is only available in Winnipeg, what will happen? Will the highway be closed? If it isn’t, will the ambulance crew be willing, or even permitted, to make the trip on highways that have not been plowed, sanded or salted?”

I ended the piece with this warning: “If the Selinger government has done even the most rudimentary cost-benefit analysis of its plan to park the plows, it will know that the potential costs far exceed the theoretical savings, and that the lives of Manitobans are being put at risk.”

The reality is we don’t know if the current road-clearing schedule is better or worse than the schedule implemented by the Selinger government in 2012. All we know is that the RCMP say that driving conditions were poor at the time of the crash, and that neither speed nor alcohol appears to have been a factor.

We also know, however, that the adequacy of snow clearing on Manitoba highways has been a hot-button issue in Manitoba politics for decades, with the government of the day always being accused of not doing enough to keep roads clear in the winter.

And we know that it’s impossible to keep every mile of all of our highways clear 24 hours per day, especially at a time when we are receiving near-record levels of snowfall. That’s why most Manitobans check road conditions before they venture out.

Lindsey knows that too, which means he should know better than to make such an outrageous accusation.

Politics is often described as a blood sport, but a line is a crossed when a politician literally uses the blood of a deceased colleague to score the cheapest of political points. Lindsey crossed that line last Wednesday.

Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon.

deverynrossletters@gmail.com

Twitter: @deverynross