A Kapuskasing resident has begun a letter writing campaign to premier Doug Ford demanding safety improvements to our northern highways. Noella Nadeau (No-wella Na-doe) says she she started the project after a family friend was seriously injured in an accident on Highway 11 west of Kapuskasing a few weeks ago. She adds it was important to put a face to the campaign.
“We all have Chad’s if we talk about Highway 11, Highway 17 up north,” she said. “We all have a Chad story – some have died some have been injured has to be known to the Premier as much as we can.”
She adds there are several ways that you can participate.
“So I would like people to go to the Facebook page and website and on there is a link, a big red button, so you can copy the letter that I posted you can do your own letter and send it to Doug Ford because he is the one who makes the decisions at the end of the day,” she said.
Here are the links to the Facebook Page.
And here is a link to the website.
The following is the complete letter that Noella Nadeau has written to Premier Doug Ford….
PREMIER FORD
I just can’t stand it anymore! I can’t stand the death and injuries, the fear, and the inaction of your government regarding the state of Northern Ontario Highways 11 and 17.
In our region, there were FOUR accidents on a single day last week, one of which caused our beloved friend CHAD to suffer life-threatening injuries. CHAD’s smile and gentleness are unequalled. But now he lays in intensive care, out of town, with multiple injuries and broken bones. Why? Because CHAD was hit by a speeding transport truck passing another transport truck, in Val Rita, in a curve, going uphill!
CHAD deserves better, we all do.
And this was not a lonely occurrence. The day before was also quite devastating. And the highway was then also closed for hours. We northerners are highly dependent on highways 11 and 17 as they are our lifelines. We use them to go to work, school, grocery stores, gas stations… We use them to see specialists and get MRI’s out of town. Our kids use them to drive back and forth from home to colleges and universities. We use them to visit our elders, extended family and friends.
For long stretches of our highways there are no side roads and when a serious accident occurs, the highway may be closed for 12 hours or more! Road maintenance is just not cutting it anymore. The roads are often icy or covered with snow for much too long.
The number of vehicles travelling these highways has dramatically increased. There are not enough passing lanes to clear congestion with all the trucks travelling our highways these days. The inspection stations are mostly closed, and trucks are not verified often enough for malfunctioning or substandard equipment on their rigs. But far worse, some truckers are either careless and/or inexperienced. They drive too fast, stay too close together, hog the middle line, pass when it’s unsafe to do so…
ALL NORTHERNERS HAVE A STORY OF A CLOSE CALL ON NORTHERN HIGHWAYS.
Don’t Northerners matter? Doesn’t CHAD’s loved one’s matter? Doesn’t CHAD matter? How about all the other “Chads” either injured or grieved by their loved one?
You are the Premier of Ontario, and this includes NORTHERN ONTARIO.
I am angry! It’s your duty to serve, it’s your job fix this.
Noella Nadeau Kapuskasing
