MushkegowukJames Bay MPP Guy Bourgouin holding town halls to push for improved northern highway safety

A northern MPP is hoping to keep his bill for improving highway snow plowing alive with a series of town halls.

MushkegowukJames Bay MPP Guy Bourgouin's bill to give highways 11 and 17 the same standard of maintenance as the 400 series highways was voted down in November.

Thursday night Bourgouin was in Hearst, workshopping ideas on how to get the private member's bill passed at Queen's Park.

"[The Conservative government] are going to hurt people," he said. "People who want to go to Thunder Bay for cancer treatment. People who, if the roads are closed they're not even going to have products for the pharmacy and pills."

"I think the government's got to look at it," he said.

Martha Heidenheim, who has lived in Hearst for 36 years, said the roads have become noticeably worse.

"You take your life in your hands some days taking those roads there's no doubt about it," Heidenheim said. "It's getting worse, in my opinion. So yeah, our lives matter up here and I don't think we're asking for anything I don't think that other Ontarians would ask."

"I think northerners are reasonable people," she said. "I think the what I heard tonight there has to be a look at the public policy and how effective it is and whether it makes sense for the north."

"It's pretty alarming to hear that we are at risk three times of other Ontarianswhen driving those roads."

A second town hall meeting on northern highway maintenance will be held Friday, January 17 in Kapuskasing.