Province scolds contractors for taking too much public sand
New Brunswick's Transportation Minister says private contractors are taking advantage of the free sand program at government depots across the province — sometimes leaving little sand behind for individuals looking to melt ice in their driveways and walkways.
Bill Fraser said while the free sand is available for anyone in New Brunswick, some contractors are showing up and taking as much as they can haul.
"Unfortunately, we do have some people abusing that," he said.
"There has been some instances where private contractors have been coming in and, unfortunately, have been removing all of the sand that they can leaving very little left for other people."
'That's not what it's meant for'
Signs were recently installed at depots asking people to take a maximum of two pails of sand per person, but Fraser said there are contractors backing up their half tonne trucks and filling them up "to do all the commercial accounts with government property."
"We don't have an unlimited supply," he said. "That's not what it's meant for."
Fraser said the province hasn't spoken with any contractors about the issue but that it will look into it "more in depth" to find a better system than what has been in place.
