Ontario’s Northern Development and Mines Minister is defending his party’s decision to defeat an NDP bill to reclassify Highways 11 and 17.
In a Facebook post, Greg Rickford says snow on both highways are now cleared within 7 hours, sooner than the eight-hour time frame wanted by northern Ontario MPP Guy Bourgoin.
The Ministry of Transportation website says crews have 16-hours after a storm to clear snow.
Rickford adds the MTO is also spending $40-million more on winter maintenance in northern Ontario than it did in 2015-16. He says it has also improved the way it communicates to the public about road and weather conditions.
