Government amendment says no to action on moose-vehicle collisions

Government introduced amendments to an Opposition private members bill that allowed them to take no action to reduce moose-vehicle collisions on our highways and does nothing to address the problem outlined by 26,000 people in the province. Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones says this is the reason she voted against the amendment.

The Opposition called upon government to conduct a comprehensive report examining all potential options to reduce moose-vehicle collisions in the province and implement the recommendations. Government amended the motion to ensure they would not have to follow any recommendations or bring about any action as outlined in such a report.

“By bringing forward these amendments, government has ensured that very little will be done to address the problem of moose-vehicle collisions in our province,” said Ms. Jones. “Without having any commitment that action will be taken to address this problem, it appears the status quo will remain the same for the foreseeable future.”

Earlier this session, the Official Opposition presented petitions from the Save Our People Action Committee (SOPAC) calling for action to address the growing concern of moose-vehicle accidents. The petition contained approximately 26,000 signatures from people throughout Newfoundland and Labrador who were looking for greater protection on our highways.

“We presented a motion that we felt could be supported by government and have a united front to address this problem. Unfortunately, for some reason, government is unwilling to commit to doing anything concrete to reduce the number of accidents. We’ve asked them to do a comprehensive study, identify solutions that would work in our province and accept the recommendations, but they were unwilling to even show that level of commitment. It is truly disappointing, especially for the many people who were looking to have our original motion passed and action take place to address this problem.

- 30 -