MR. SPEAKER:
Further petitions?
The hon. the Opposition House
Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am pleased at this time to enter
a petition on behalf of the residents of Cape Ray. This
is the third or fourth time and it is amazing because
when you do it, it seems people even who do not live in
Cape Ray all of a sudden they are aware of the problem,
but once they know now it is of public knowledge of
course the petitions keep coming because they want the
issue to stay in the forefront until it does indeed get
resolved. I am more than pleased to present that concern
on their behalf.
The petition in this case, Mr.
Speaker, reads:
WHEREAS
the Department of Transportation and Works of the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is responsible
for the funding and maintenance of roads in the
community of Cape Ray, in the Province of Newfoundland
and Labrador; and
WHEREAS
the roads at Cape Ray are in deplorable condition,
including the road leading from the community to the J.T.
Cheeseman Provincial Park; and
WHEREAS
the citizens of Cape Ray demand that the roads be
upgraded;
WHEREUPON
the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call
upon the House of Assembly to urge government to provide
sufficient funding to complete the necessary repairs to
the roads at Cape Ray
And as in duty bound your
Petitioners will ever pray.
Well, Mr. Speaker, hopefully they
will not have to pray too long because the road has
certainly been left in a deplorable condition for too
long. We tried successively now, too long being the last
three or four years and it is amazing that this road is
being used by the Department of Transportation and
Works. It connects the community of Cape Ray to the
provincial park which is, as I say, a provincial park
operated, paid for, maintained by this Province. The
Department of Transportation and Works uses the road as
do the residents. They have the equipment in the area.
It is only a short road, by the way, we are not talking
here Trans-Canada Highway standards; you are talking
basically a bit of gravel and so on and yet they cannot
find it in their budgets to get this done.
Well hopefully, Mr. Speaker, the
concerns of the citizens have been brought to this House
and to the minister’s attention sufficiently so that now
somebody will give some directions and approval to get
this done. It is not a big cost but it certainly is a
very important part of the transit system out in that
area.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
