Rev.No. 01 Rev. Date 15 Nov 10 MEMORANDUM Pa e 1 of 2 L1867MSOl DATE: February 27, 2014 TO: Elected Municipal Representatives in Nova Scotia FROM: Steve Joy, President, CUPE Local 1867 RE: CUPE's'Warning - Bad Roads Ahead' Campaign On behalf of the 1,400 plus women and men in the Nova Scotia Highway Workers' Union CUPELocal 1867, I am writing to you about a very important issue. I urge you to take a moment to familiarize yourself with this issue in preparation of the potential for constituents calling you with concerns about the deteriorating state of the pavement in their part of the province; this will allow you to be armed with the facts. CUPEwas vocal in its opposition to the McNeil government's plan to pull the plug on the public paving plant that our members had been operating over the last two paving seasons. This decision is short-sighted and will be to the detriment of remote parts of the province that benefitted from this program of in-house paving. Some of these roads haven't been repaved since the Department of Transportation did them more than 20 years ago. Attached please find information as well a print ad which was published in all of the province's daily newspapers, detailing the work that was done by the public plant in remote communities that have not had any paving work in decades. The five-year 'projection' figure for the total amount of paving that will be done by the Liberal government is $209 million. This is lower than the five-year figure of $225 million committed to by the previous government. The new government stopped the in-house paving and they are doing less paving overall. The January 23, 2014 article from the Cape Breton Post (enclosed) sites both opposition parties suggesting the province is spending a whopping $15.5 million less in paving. The bottom line; having the private sector carry out all of the paving throughout the province has not served the taxpayers of Nova Scotia well. The work we (TIR) were doing is only meant to compliment the paving being completed by the private companies. TIR's asphalt plant was responsible for less than 3% of the paving. In remote rural areas private companies are reluctant to bid on small areas where little profit can be made. First and NS Highway Workers Union Local 1867 271 Brownlow Ave., Dartmouth, NS B3B lW6 Phone: 1·902-832-1867/1-800-962-1867 Fax: 1-902-453-2635 Rev. No. I 01 '.".\\\C,"IHI' IFON~I: ~., .4>J' Rev. Date I 15 Nov 10 PaQe 2 of 2 ~.-{); MEMORANDUM ~~co'\\\v/~ r:l;PE. WC.\\' \~"~ L1867MSOl foremost T1R's priority is to provide safe roads for the motoring public. This supersedes any priority of generating revenue. Again, I urge you to take the time to familiarize yourself with this issue, so that when constituents call you to complain about the lack of paving in their part of the province, you can be armed with the correct information. I have included a list of contact information for the Nova Scotia Liberal MLAs so you can discuss this matter with them. Public roads are a public matter, not private. Enclosures c: Jacquie Bramwell, CUPEAtlantic Regional Director Danny cavanagh, President, CUPENova Scotia Rick Clarke, President, Nova Scotia Federation of Labour NS Highway Workers Union Local 1867 271 Brownlow Ave., Dartmouth, NS 83B lW6 Phone: 1·902·832·1867/1·800·962·1867 Fax: 1·902·453·2635 HARNiNG: 6ADROADS AH[AD Nova Scotia's newly-elected government has said it's pulling the plug on a public paving program that was started lessthan two years ago. Here's a list of communities that saw paving done, in many cases for tile first time in decades, as part of the program during last year's paving season: Kings County Guysborough County 1)Wharf Road - 0.62 km 1)Route 211 -12.3 km 2) King Street - 0.72 km 2) Route 316 - 6.6 km 3) Horton Cross - 0.75 km 3) Route 276 - 5.3 km 4) Old Post Road - 2.0 km 4) Trunk 7 -18.2 km 5) Old Trunk 1-1.91 km 6) Grand Pre Road - 3.761<m 7) Evangeline Road - 0.70 km 8) Gaspereau River Road - 8.7 km 9) Highbury School Road - 2.4 km 10) Middle Dyke Road - 4.8 km 11)Sherman Belcher - 3.10 km 12) Route 359 - 2.4 km 13) McKitterick Road - 0.9 km 14) Brooklyn Street -10.25 km 15) Steadman Road - 2.35 km Total - 45.36 km Total- 49 km That's a season total of just under 95 kilometres. In the previous year of paving, Victoria/Inverness County and Queen's county benefitted from badly-neglectecl roads getting paved. If we return to the way tllings were - a total reliance on private contractors to do the work - residents in remote parts of the province may be waiting a whole lot longer to see any more paving done. A message from The Nova Scotia Highway Workers' Union CUPE • Public loses when private contractors have 'free rein' .., Meanwhile, the more remote parts of the province that the big I Public loses when contractors had been ignoring because these small jobs weren't prottabie enough for them, were actually seeing road work for the first time in decades. private contractors So the party that campaigned on lower and stable power rates have 'free rein' through the introduction of competition in the Just one day after being sworn in, Premier McNeil has signaled his energy sector, doesn't plan to pull the plug on our public paving plant. appear to support lower But by doing so, the Liberals have just eliminated competition costs for paving roads between a small group of highly-profitable contractors who've via this same model? dominated the paving industry in our province and us, the taxpayers. And what will happen to the expensive The public paving plant that We are regularly reminded by business that competition keeps equipment that was recently purchased by the prices lower and stable for taxpayers. We saw this when, was purchased by Department of Transportation to immediately after the former NDP government announced it was pave roads in more remote parts of the Department of getting into the paving business, the price of asphalt dropped by the province. Transportation less 20%! than two years ago? Almost miraculously, the price that we the taxpayers were paying This move by the new government spells bad roads ahead for fell to $45 a ton from $59, savings that led to more kilometres of the majority of Nova Scotia motorists and happy days for the big paving in 2012. contractors who had been making exorbitant profits until the in-house paving plan forced them to be more 'competitive'. CUPE A message from the Nova Scotia Highway Workers' Union, CUPE Local 1867 For more information contact CUPE National Representative Peter Baxter at (902) 455-4180 CAPE BRETON POST Proud · Strong · Local Bridging the gap Erin Pottie Published on January 23, 2014 Five Cape Breton bridge projects included in decreased spending plan Workers cut the steel overhead beams that made up the former Sydney River bridge on Thursday. Topping the list is the Sydney River bridge replacement project that began in the fall. Four other bridges that will see improvements are the Humes River, lower Middle River and Bay St. lawrence bridges in Victoria County, in addition to Crowd is bridge in Inverness County. This year's capital budget, which includes provincial, federal and municipal funding, is $235 million. In comparision, $245.8 million was spent last year. Additional operational funding for highway maintenance is expected to be made available in the upcoming provincial budget. On Thursday, Nova Scotia Transporation Minister Geoff Maclellan attributed the budget decline to a wrap-up of federal funding associated with major construction projects. "We're in between federai stimulus programs, so that was reduced from the overall capital budget, so we haven't cut anything," said Maclellan, who is MLA for Glace Bay. "We haven't removed any projects -it's relatively the same amount of money. The difference is that there was a reduction in the major construction portion of the highway budget because of the completion of agreements with the federal government.1I I On Thursday, Progressive Conservative transportation critic Alfie MacLeod, who is MLA for Sydney River- Mira-Louisbourg, said the Liberals need to explain why the provincial portion of the highway budget has dropped by $15.5 million. According to last year's plan, Nova Scotia contributed almost $225 million to its highways and roads, compared to $209 million this year. Provincial highway funding inciudes all revenues collected through provincial gas taxes and registration of motor vehicles, as well as other funding provided by the provincial government. MacLeod said the pian also highlights a federal contribution of $25.5 million provided by the Building Canada Plan, which is up $5.5 million over last year. "In our area in particular, and right across the province, good transportation also means good economic sense," said MacLeod. "And where we rely so much on having good roads for tourism and everything, it is a disappointment." MacLeod and Gordie Gosse, MLA for Sydney-Whitney Pier, said the MacLellan needs to better explain why the provincial contribution has decreased by $15.5 million. Both Cape Breton MLAs also noted that while provincial dollars decreased, the plan highlights a $5.5- million increase in federal support.