Under highway safety, Mr. Chairman, the committee expressed concern to the Minister on the issue of highway safety, specifically emergency response protocols and effective highway patrol. The Minister replied that the department and the departments of Justice, and Municipal and Community Affairs, and the RCMP have worked on developing emergency response protocols. He added that a toll-free number has been established for highway emergencies and this number has been identified in brochures in stops and businesses along the highways.
The department informed the committee that for occupational safety reasons, the Department of Transportation will no longer patrol non-commercial traffic on our highway system. Department officers do not have the training or the equipment to effectively handle dangerous confrontations. The committee has been informed by the department that it has worked with the RCMP to increase their presence on our highway system.
Mr. Chairman, for the balance of this report, I would like to hand this over to my colleague, and the deputy chair of the committee, Ms. Lee.