MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?

The hon. the Member for the District of Cartwright-L’Anse au Clair and Opposition Leader.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand today to present a petition on behalf of the people of Labrador. It is regarding the Trans-Labrador Highway, Route 510. It says:

WHEREAS the Trans-Labrador Highway is a vital transportation lifeline for the Labrador communities, providing access, generating economic activity, and allowing residents to obtain health care and other public services; and

WHEREAS Route 510 and connecting branch roads of the Trans-Labrador Highway are unpaved, in deplorable conditions and are no longer suitable and safe for the traffic volumes that travel this route; and

WHEREAS Labrador cannot afford to wait years or decades for upgrading and paving of their essential transportation route;

WHEREUPON the petitioners urge the House of Assembly to call upon the government to provide additional funding for much needed improvements to Route 510 and connecting branch roads of the Trans-Labrador Highway.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, this is a petition that is actually circulating all around Labrador. It is a cause that has been spearheaded by a coalition in Labrador that is being led by Ida Powell in Charlottetown, I think, who is the Chair of the coalition.

Basically, Mr. Speaker, they are lobbying the provincial government to at least give some consideration to paving the highway from Happy Valley-Goose Bay right on down to the Quebec border. In fact, Mr. Speaker, this morning when I was on a conference call with a group of people from different regions of Labrador, some of them were telling me that just recently they have driven over that section of road and in certain areas, not in all, but in certain areas the road is in pretty bad shape right now. Mr. Speaker, it takes a long time –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: – to get from point A to point B and, Mr. Speaker, it is having a lot of wear and tear on people’s vehicles.

For example, Mr. Speaker, just in the Labrador Straits alone where there is pavement - pavement that is very old right now, in fact - last year there was, on record, dozens of people who damaged their vehicles because the potholes in the pavement were so big that it was actually damaging the tires and all of the under gear under their vehicles. They submitted claims to the Department of Transportation and Works, but the government did not even compensate them. Although, Mr. Speaker, there were no signs on the road saying there was going to be –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: – potholes or bumps or anything of that sort, and they did not receive any compensation whatsoever, which was really unfair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, the people in Labrador know, from the meeting they had with the Minister of Transportation and Works in Goose Bay, there is nothing on the government’s radar to pave that particular highway, and that is wrong. I think it is time this government started showing some real commitment to the people of Labrador and started showing them by bringing their infrastructure inline with other people in the Province, and that means making a commitment to pave this section of highway.