I’m pleased to be here to reintroduce my private member’s bill, which is intended to make it safer for northern Ontarians to travel our highways during the winter months.

The bill seeks to reduce the number of winter closures on Highways 11 and 17 that are oftentimes caused by poor road conditions and maintenance standards that are not on par with those on southern Ontario highways.

The bill amends the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act in relation to standards for road maintenance in winter. New section 100 sets out a classification system for Ontario highways consisting of five classes of highways. The section classifies all 400-series highways, the QEW highway and Highways 11 and 17 as class 1 highways. The section also sets out the time within which snow must be removed from each class of highway after each snowfall. Class 1 highways have the strictest requirements for snow removal, requiring that the pavement be bare of snow within eight hours of the end of a snowfall.

Mr. Schreiner moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 44, An Act to amend the Planning Act with respect to residential unit policies in official plans / Projet de loi 44, Loi modifiant la Loi sur l’aménagement du territoire en ce qui concerne les politiques relatives aux unités d’habitation contenues dans les plans officiels.

The supplementary question.

The House recessed from 1144 to 1500.

Report adopted.

Mr. Bourgouin moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 43, An Act to amend the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act to make northern Ontario highways safer / Projet de loi 43, Loi modifiant la Loi sur l’aménagement des voies publiques et des transports en commun pour accroître la sécurité des voies publiques dans le nord de l’Ontario.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.

First reading agreed to.