On Tuesday a resolution was passed at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) conference, to give RCMP the power to close highways in unsafe conditions.
Last spring a procession of tow truck drivers drove from Yorkton to Esterhazy in memory of Courtney Schaefer, a young tow truck driver killed on the job.
A blizzard at the time of the incident made driving conditions less than ideal.
“We did some checking and we found out that RCMP requested the highway, those highways, be shut down five times to the Ministry of Highways and they were refused,” Churchbridge Mayor, Jim Gallant said.
Right now only the Ministry of Highways has the ability to close provincial roads during extreme weather or collisions.
“We work in partnership with the ministry and may inform them when less than ideal conditions or other factors exist impacting roads in our detachment areas,” Staff. Sgt. with Saskatchewan RCMP, Rob Embree said. “We would contact them and have them assess the situation.”
But some urban leaders say that takes time, and RCMP members on scene should be able to make the call.
“It’s a safety thing and we can save lives by allowing the RCMP to easily shut down the highways,” Gallant said.
That’s the model in Manitoba and has been for more than a decade.
Minister of Highways and Infrastructure, David Marit said he’s not aware of the specific request put in by RCMP at the time of Schaefer’s death.
“In some cases unfortunately the jurisdictions are so huge right and it usually comes down to a timing issue and issues like that, but also in coordinating with our folks to insure that the highways rightfully have to be closed and for what reasons,” Marit said.
The proposal will now go to the ministry office, where Marit says he is willing to drive the procedure in a different direction.
“Our number one focus is highway safety,” Marit said. “So if it means making some changes to make it work that way, we will definitely look at those.”
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