Conference On Highway Deaths Needed: Dorion

Conference On Highway Deaths Needed: Dorion

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 12:09

An Aboriginal leader is calling for a national conference to be held, examining the high number of First Nations deaths and injuries on Canadian highways.

John Dorion of the John Cochrane band says something has to be done to curb the high number of First Nations people’s lives being cut short by car crashes.

He says five First Nations youth and one Native elder from Saskatchewan have died in the past three weeks alone.

Dorion says grid roads on First Nations reserves are one of the main culprits.

“As soon as you go into a First Nations community, most of the time the roads are terrible. They’re not looked after, and they’re very dangerous roads,” he says.

Dorion says the federal and provincial governments share the responsibility of road safety, design and construction, so it’s natural both sides should be included in the conference.

He’s hoping other First Nations leaders will step forward to push for such an event.