The former minister of transportation in the Liberal Government, who spent many hours combing through numbers and suggestions in snow clearing, says the current government’s plan is not a whole lot different from the way they did things.

Transportation Minister Barry Petten announced yesterday 24/7 availability of winter maintenance crews, but south coast MHA Elvis Loveless says his government also had 24/7 service on much the same routes. The only difference was that plow operators used to be at home when they were called in whereas now they will already be at the depot.

As for the $3-million price tag, Loveless can’t see how they can hire an additional 50 operators for that amount. Not to mention the cost of road salt.

The budget for salt is $38-million a year so with more operators, you will need more salt,” says Loveless, plus there will be other expenses as you will need more mechanics.”