Rhéal Arseneault, who has lived in the rural community of South Canaan, N.B., for 20 years, says the poor conditions of the main road through his community have been preventing first responders from arriving promptly during emergencies.
Every spring, South Canaan Road becomes a muddy mess full of ruts and tire treads.
The provincially owned road connects many privately maintained roads in the rural community near Petitcodiac.
Arseneault has to carefully manoeuvre through the mud with his four-wheel-drive truck, and said many residents frequently have to pay for costly repairs to their vehicles because of the road conditions.
“We had a fire on our road in February and it took them an hour and a half to get here, the fire trucks. And (the owner) lost everything. Everything,” he told Global News on Monday.
On Saturday, he said crews were unable to respond when his 87-year-old neighbour John Chamberlain was found dead in his home by another South Canaan resident.
“The ambulance came down but they got stuck,” Arseneault said.
“One cop made it … and said, ‘Well, we’ve got to take him out somehow,’ so they put him in a body bag and put him in a half-ton truck in a box, they took him out to an awaiting coroner and ambulance on Dubé road,” he said.
Arseneault was close with Chamberlain, describing him as having a heart of gold.
He said the way Chamberlain’s body was handled was “disgusting and disrespectful.”
“I’m not blaming the ambulance and the coroner and all of them. I’m not blaming the guys at the government garage either. It’s not their fault. Government. The government themselves,” he said.
Arseneault said he has had many talks over the years with his MLA Ross Wetmore about the conditions of the road, as well as a nearby bridge that was washed out in a storm.
Wetmore did not respond to Global News’ request for comment before publication time.
A representative for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure told Global News in an emailed statement that the department “is planning to address the rutted sections along South Canaan Road this week.”
“District crews were on-site Monday morning to assess the area for additional work to take place this summer, a continuation of work which began in 2022.”
They also said the department is in the process of finalizing the list of projects for the 2023 Summer Maintenance Program.