Province changes explanation for school bus repair problems, says problem is fixed

Issues plaguing timely school bus repairs announced last month have now been addressed, the province says.

But the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has now changed its explanation for the issues, and Minister Chuck Chiasson was hesitant to claim full responsibility for the mixed messages.

Last month, Chiasson had said a lack of licensed mechanics meant backup buses would not be brought to broken down school buses, and the shortage also would mean repairs would only take place during normal business hours.

On Tuesday, Chiasson told reporters there were also mechanics available to be called in after hours, but no one was available at the shop unless they were called in.

Chiasson said the department has engaged with the union representing school bus mechanics, "so we can make sure there's some compensation tied to this so we can always be assured that there'll be somebody on standby."

His explanation Tuesday for not bringing replacement buses to breakdowns was because the department needed a legal opinion about mechanics driving school buses, which normally requires a special licence class.

“Now we got the legal opinion, they're allowed to do it," he said. "And so we're back to normal,”

When asked if this was all a communications error from the department, Chaisson said there has been miscommunication “all over” on the issue.

“Some people probably didn't understand the message they were receiving,” he said. 

“I'm not going to point fingers at where that was or how that happened, but I'm just saying that there was probably a little bit of misunderstanding, maybe a little bit of communication that could have been a little sharper.”

But while Chaisson described the saga as a “storm in a glass of water” that has been resolved, opposition parties were not so eager to quickly move on.

“What were they trying to do last week?" said interim Progressive Conservative Leader Glen Savoie. "They were trying to blame it on a lack of availability of mechanics. They were trying to blame it on everything under the sun.

“If it was such a big issue, they could have explained it to parents and say, you know what, there may be something here that we have to look at.”

Savoie called the government’s messaging on the issue “incompetence.”