TANS Rejects Province's Offer

The province will make sure road safety is maintained despite a decision of the Truckers Association of Nova Scotia (TANS) to reject an offer of more money for hauling salt

Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works, said the province offered the association an eight per cent surcharge for the rest of the season to help defray the rising cost of diesel fuel.

But Mr. Russell said he will not let the association's rejection put public safety at risk.

"It's extremely disappointing," Mr. Russell said. "We made a very fair offer to TANS, especially considering we already pay more than most municipalities.

"We also offered to look at these rates again once the season was over and we had a better idea of our budget.

"But now that they have rejected our offer, we are forced to put our contingency plan into place to make sure the roads are safe for all Nova Scotians."

Mr. Russell said private truckers and members of the Roadbuilders Association of Nova Scotia will now haul salt for the rest of the season.

"Our plan is already underway," he said. "There is no reason for Nova Scotians to worry. Our salt domes are about 70 per cent full right now. And we are making sure we'll have enough for the rest of the winter."

The Department of Transportation and Public Works will pay its standard rate -- without the eight per cent surcharge -- to the alternate suppliers.

The department pays 13 per cent more than Halifax Regional Municipality to haul salt from Pugwash to Halifax. The department pays 25 per cent more than Cape Breton Regional Municipality on a haul from Mulgrave to Sydney.

TANS truckers stopped hauling salt for the province on Monday, Feb. 7, at midnight.