Road cash for the North a must (July 01, 2002)

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BATHURST, N.B. – The province of New Brunswick is being urged to put more money into its northern road network.

Independent truckers on the Acadian Peninsula are making demands saying they are living in fear of losing their trucks and livelihoods.

“The government has a ‘rainy day’ fund,” says Marcel Boudreau, vice-president of the Independent Truckers’ Association of the Acadian Peninsula. “Well, we truckers of the Acadian Peninsula, find that the rainy days are here and we’d like the government to take $10 million or $15 million out of that fund. We have 17 per cent of the road network in the North and so we’re asking for 17 per cent of the budget.”

The truckers’ group says the government should shift its spending habits dramatically to $28.6 million rather than the $7.5 million allotted. Protests are one possibility being discussed by the angry truck drivers. Most members of the association primarily own gravel trucks and rely heavily on road building work to earn a living. New Brunswick Transportation Minister Percy Mockler says the budget already grew by more than a third.

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