Government’s promised ATV regulations long overdue says Opposition

Roland Butler, MHA for the District of Port de Grave and Liberal Opposition Critic for Government Services, says the long delay in bringing forth ATV regulations is unacceptable and he is urging government to speed up the review process to help mitigate the problem of ATV accidents.

Butler was responding to media reports that there have already been six deaths in the province this year from ATV crashes, with the latest one occurring this past weekend.

“When the current Government Services minister took on this role in October 2007, his first act was to ask for a  review of the policy surrounding the use of ATV, as well as a review of the legislation pertaining to the two-up or rest seat,” say Butler. “Three years later, and this issue is still in government limbo while tragic accidents are occurring on these machines.”

The MHA points out that he not only questioned the minister on the status of this legislation in Estimates Committee proceedings in 2008, but also in 2009.  “Further, I asked the minister on June 16^th in this past Legislative session on the progress made in bringing this legislation into effect, but the minister was still not able to commit to a timeframe.  This is a very serious issue and government needs to get their act together and ensure this legislation is put into place to enhance life and safety measures.

“The public is out there asking about the status of this review and wondering why government is taking so long to address these concerns.  I can only speculate that this delay may be related to political considerations.  There are liability concerns should they approve the two-up or rest seat and government is not prepared to assume this liability.  With an election looming on the horizon, perhaps there may be concerns about upsetting the public with any changes in legislation. If this is not the case, then government is obligated to explain to the people why there has been such an inordinate delay.”

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