Source: YourBarrhaven.com
Minister visits Algonquin College for National Day of Remembrance
ONTARIO - Ottawa West-Nepean MP John Baird joined with students from Algonquin College on Nov. 18 for the National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims.
“Eight people die every day in road fatalities in Canada,” Baird says. “Every three hours someone dies: 3,000 people a year. Imagine if 10 airplanes with 300 people crashed. Nine hundred people are victims of drinking and driving and it’s preventable.”
For Baird, who is also the minister of transport, infrastructure and communities, the issue a personal one.
“I lost a 22-year-old cousin – not to a drunk driver – but in a traffic accident a few years ago,” Baird says. “It not just claims the victim, but the whole family is really affected. We have to do everything we reasonably can to prevent preventable deaths, particularly from criminal causes like drinking and driving.”
Baird notes that the federal government has taken a number of measures to reduce road crash fatalities in Canada, including introducing street racing legislation and improving child car seat testing standards. There is also legislation before Parliament to allow the government to recall unsafe car seats. He adds that the government is working on regulations to make electronic stability control mandatory in all new cars and add anti-skidding devices to improve brake performance.
“We’ve also passed legislation on drug-impaired driving, which I think is right up there with drinking and driving,” Baird says.
He notes that many Algonquin College students will eventually be on the front lines of dealing with road crashes in their careers.
“When you look at people in policing training, paramedics, nurses and firefighters, they will probably make a huge difference in helping in this area,” Baird says.
He adds that the new pedestrian bridge, which the federal government supported financially, will make crossing Woodroffe Avenue safer for the approximately 1,000 students who cross there every hour.
Earlier on Nov. 18, Baird helped kick off the local Mothers Against Drunk Driving red ribbon campaign at Chances R at College Square. The restaurant donated the proceeds, $1,250, from the breakfast shift to the MADD campaign.
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1 comments:
Baird isn't doing enough. Has anyone asked him why Canada's National Day of Remembrance is four days after the rest of the world? I think the answer shows his priorities and interest in "safe roads". Mr Baird - twice as many fatalities are caused by "routine traffic violations" than by impaired drivers. What are you doing to "Rethink the way we drive"???
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