N.S. public works minister won't end political plowing of private roads
CBC
Newly released documents show Nova Scotia's public works department continues to use its equipment and staff to maintain some private roads across the province as a legacy of political favours from the past.
Public Works Minister Kim Masland says she is not prepared to stop the practice, even though there is a policy against it.
"I certainly do not want to be the minister that's going to all of a sudden stop plowing someone's road that has been plowed for 31 years now," she said in an interview.
A freedom of information request last year revealed the province provides some level of service on 348 private roads totalling about 95 kilometres.
When asked why the department stopped doing some work on two private roads in Cape Breton Regional Municipality and Inverness County, the department would not provide anyone for an interview.
Instead, it issued statements saying the province does not maintain private roads.
In newly released documents obtained by CBC under freedom of information legislation, the department's acting executive director of maintenance and operations tells other officials that the topic is touchy.
"This subject is particularly sensitive as it relates to services provided from political promises years ago," Guy Deveau wrote in an email in response to the initial freedom of information request.
"In a nutshell, mostly in the late 70s and early 80s, political promises were made to provide services to a number of private roads across the province. The services included winter plowing and/or summer grading only."
In another email, Deveau said the province does some plowing and grading, but does not provide maintenance, which he described as "pipes, gravel, ditching, etc."
Some roads have been dropped from the list as their condition deteriorated and threatened government equipment, he said, but many remain.
Masland said she will not end the practice.
"Is it something that could be looked at down the road?" she said.
"Possibly, but as of today, the department will be maintaining the status quo of minimal services to the 95 kilometres of roads that we are doing and there'll be no plans to change that."
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