N.S. pothole claim adjudicator 'merits consideration,' premier says
Anjuli Patil | CBC News | Posted: March 3, 2020 10:48 PM | Last Updated: March 3, 2020
NDP access-to-information request revealed provincial pothole damage claims are rarely successful
Premier Stephen McNeil says he will look at possibly bringing in an adjudicator to the provincial program that compensates people after their vehicles are damaged by potholes and hazards on Nova Scotia's roads.
During question period on Tuesday, NDP Leader Gary Burill revealed there were were 910 complaints to Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal's road hazards claims and investigations program last year, while only 47 claims resulted in a payment to the driver — just a little more than five per cent.
The information covers the fiscal years between 2014 and 2019, and came from an access-to-information request received by the NDP caucus.
The data shows the percentage of claims paid in the program declined in each of those years.
| Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Road Hazards Claims and Investigations Program | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Total claims | Claims paid | % of total claims paid |
| 2014-15 | 815 | 64 | 7.85 |
| 2015-16 | 578 | 43 | 7.44 |
| 2016-17 | 658 | 45 | 6.84 |
| 2017-18 | 966 | 54 | 5.59 |
| 2018-19 | 910 | 47 | 5.16 |
| Source: NDP caucus | |||
"What is the point of a program that almost no one seems to be able to benefit from?" Burrill said during question period.
Speaking with reporters afterwards, Burrill said he would like to see the government make public posts about potholes and hazards on provincial roads and estimated fix times.
"People ought to be able to look that up," he said.
Premier Stephen McNeil told reporters he would be looking at the claims program and seeing if changes are needed.
"The issue about whether or not there's a third party that can determine who's right and who's wrong, and the government has used all the data in front of it, I think, merits consideration," McNeil said.
'Something inherently wrong with the system'
Karen Cole, who lives in Dartmouth, N.S., paid $2,000 to tow and repair her vehicle after it was damaged by two large potholes "across the full width of the road" on Highway 102 in June 2019.
"There needs to be something done, there's something inherently wrong with the system," she told CBC News.
Cole said after her vehicle was damaged, she made a claim and was denied.
She said she filed an access-to-information request to find out when the Transportation Department knew about the pothole that damaged her car because the department has 14 days to fix it.
When she got the report back, she said the date was redacted.
"I have to completely take their word for it, I don't know why they were covering up the date," she said.
'I'm not going to get my hopes up'
Lisa Gargan of Prospect Bay, N.S., made a claim after her car was damaged by potholes while driving home from Antigonish in June 2019 and was denied.
She said she ended up replacing her two front tires, needed a front wheel alignment and said she suffered from whiplash.
In terms of potential changes coming to the claims program, she said she'll believe it when she sees it.
"It sounds promising, but I'm not going to get my hopes up," she said.
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