Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
A trio of New Democrat MPPs, led by Timiskaming-Cochrane’s John Vanthof, set out on a northern Ontario highway tour from March 3 to March 12, chronicling the trip to highlight the perils of traveling in the North. The tour took Vanthof, Guy Bourgouin of Mushkegowuk-James Bay, and Sol Mamakwa of Kiiwetinoong from Queen’s Park in Toronto, all the way to the Manitoba border via Highway 11 and then back down to North Bay on Highway 17. They were also joined by Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles for the Thunder Bay to Sault Ste Marie leg of the trip. Along the way, highlights were shared on social media, in the hopes of bringing attention to highway safety issues in the north – something Vanthof says the Ontario government has been ignoring for far too long.
“When I came up with the idea, both Sal [Mamakwa] and Guy [Bourgouin] signed on right away. Guy lives it, right? Kapuskasing and Hearst is a really tough part of the highway, and Sal had just lost several First Nations people whom he knew. Although Highway 11 and 17 don’t go through his riding, all the people from his riding go through that corridor,” describes Vanthof. He says the idea came to him after a conversation with Conservative MPP and Education Minister Paul Calandra. According to Vanthof, the Minister brought up Ice Road Truckers, the television program, during a chat. Vanthof says he laughed when Calandra mentioned the show, and told him “Paul, we don’t need to watch Ice Road Truckers in northern Ontario, we live it!” Ironically, while Calandra’s comment sparked the idea, Vanthof notes that no one from his party volunteered to join the tour. “We would have loved to drag in one of the Conservatives, but you can’t force people,” he says.
Still, they hope to bring the message to the government in another way. Accompanying the trio of MPPs along Highways 11 and 17 was a professional cameraman who took footage of the trip, and Vanthof says they are preparing a mini documentary on the state of northern highways to back him up with he brings up the issue again at Queen’s Park. However, Vanthof doesn’t want to be the sole voice decrying the road conditions. Interviews with northerners from different communities along that stretch of the highway, each talking about their specific issues, will serve as a rallying cry for everyone to pressure the government in a unified way, he hopes.
