Summary#

Bill 59’s short title in the bill text is the Making Northern Ontario Highways Safer Act, 2021. It would amend Ontario’s Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act by requiring the Minister of Transportation to ensure snow is cleared to set standards on highways under the Ministry’s jurisdiction. Its stated goal is to make northern Ontario highways safer; that is a goal, not a guaranteed result.

• The Minister would have to classify Ministry highways by regulation, based on traffic quality and quantity and any other criteria set by regulation.
• The bill itself makes all 400-series highways, the QEW, and Highways 11 and 17 Class 1 highways, including two-lane portions of Highways 11 and 17.
• After a snowfall ends, Class 1 highways would have to be bare across the entire pavement within eight hours; the deadlines are 16 hours for Class 2 and 24 hours for Class 3.
• For Class 4 roads, a 2.5-metre strip in the centre would have to be bare within 24 hours. Class 5 roads would have to be plowed to a snow-packed surface within 24 hours, with sand applied to improve friction.
• The bill would take effect on a date set by proclamation. It does not itself set a start date.

What it means for you#

• Drivers: If you use a highway under the Ministry’s jurisdiction, the bill would set a snow-clearing standard based on its class. It does not cover roads outside that jurisdiction.
• Drivers on Highways 11 and 17: These highways would be Class 1 even where they have only two lanes, with the eight-hour bare-pavement standard.
• The Minister of Transportation: The Minister would have to ensure the standards are met and make a regulation classifying Ministry highways. The bill does not set a process for checking compliance.
• Individuals and businesses: The bill does not directly change taxes, fees, or individual duties. It does not create a new road-maintenance agency.

Money#

No cost estimate or funding amount is provided in the available material.

• The Minister would have to ensure the standards are met, and classify highways by regulation; the bill does not specify staffing or resources.
• No tax, fee, fine, or appropriation is set out.

What is unclear#

• The parent Act was not supplied, so current winter-maintenance rules and how this bill would change them could not be verified.
• The bill does not define terms such as “end of the snowfall,” “bare,” or “snow-packed.”
• The Minister’s regulation would determine classifications for other highways, but the bill does not give all the criteria or say when that regulation must be made.
• The bill does not set out exceptions, an inspection or enforcement process, or a penalty for missing a deadline.
• No proclamation date is provided.

Case for#

• A possible argument for the bill is that it would set clear, timed snow-clearing standards instead of leaving the standard unstated in this bill.
• The different standards recognize different highway classes: lower-class roads would not all need the same bare-pavement treatment as Class 1 roads.
• Explicitly including two-lane portions of Highways 11 and 17 in Class 1 would give those stretches the same eight-hour standard as other Class 1 highways.

Case against#

• The bill requires deadlines but does not set out exceptions or explain how the deadlines would apply in different conditions.
• The Minister would set classifications for many highways through regulation, while the bill leaves some classification criteria open.
• The bill does not explain how compliance would be checked or what would happen if a deadline were missed.
• The staffing and cost of meeting the standards are not stated.