To the consternation of many and with the Canada Day long weekend approaching, the BC Liberal government has no plan to provide local road rescue service in the Golden area, says Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald.
The Golden area has been without local road rescue services since May 1. The coverage area includes the Trans-Canada Highway from the Rogers Pass to Yoho National Park, which was recently listed as one of the 10 Most Dangerous Roads in Canada.
“It is the responsibility of the province to ensure that when accidents happen, trained and equipped rescuers are quickly on the scene,” Macdonald said. “These are often life-or-death situations. But with the summer travel season upon us, there is no one contracted to provide this service in this area.”
It has been estimated that more than 10,000 vehicles per day travel this section of road in the summer months.
“There is no question that the government is going to have to move outside its traditional service provision model to solve this problem, and it is going to cost the government money. The current situation is unacceptable.
“This needs to become a top priority of government. We simply cannot go into the Canada Day long weekend without an established local road rescue service. It’s up to the Minister to ensure that travelers in our area are protected.”
