Auditor General and your road taxes...

"Let's make a deal"

The Auditor General's report on spending told Newfoundland and Labradorians something disturbing that, as consumers of gasoline and diesel products, we should all be disgusted with.

His report stated that...

"In 1996, we concluded that the department was not adequately managing the road system. A decade later, we have come to the same conclusion."

Now, I don't know about you but, this one bugs the hell out of me considering the fact that we haven't seen good road maintenance in spite of the money consumers have invested. Here in Newfoundland and Labrador, we have seen road taxation levels of 16.5 cents a litre on every drop of motive fuel sold here. According to the A. G's report, last year, we saw a paltry $36 million invested when there was an estmate in the 2006 budget of $142.7 million to be collected. The Actual for 2005 was $141.5 million.

There is something wrong with this number...

Last week when the report came out, I took the time to hunt down some of the numbers the A'G use to base his numbers on.

1997's actual amount collected from road taxes totalled $119.4 million to yesterdays report of 142.7. people should be shocked to learn that, we haven't seen strategic investment in the Labrador region of the province where road infrastructure has been a tiresome fight for the citizenry there as well. They deserve their fair share and need it desperately, not a piece of "chip seal" that they'll get on an experimental basis.

What the citizens of this province need is the promise that every cent collected in the form of road taxation goes directly to roads and their related ferry systems in Newfoundland and Labrador...

What the A'G's report gave us was the fact that, since 2002's investment of some $80 million, there's no wonder we're complaining about roads and ferries here in Newfoundland and Labrador, moreso now than ever...

We just don't know when we'll see that strategic investment happen...

Get ready. What you're going to hear in the coming days will be chatter from the governing Tories about the fed's not investing their share...

Ya right...

Deals for roads include a good working relationship with those upalong.

Not likely that's going to happen any time soon...