3 months ago a provincial plow ran into a cemetery. The PCs say nothing has been done

In February a government plow went off the road in Gooseberry Cove, damaging the guard rail, cemetery and its retaining wall. (Submitted by Ashley Politi)

Three months ago, on a stormy night, a Newfoundland and Labrador plow went off the road, crashing through a guard rail and into a cemetery and damaging graves — and the representative for the area says nothing has been done to help affected families.

In the House of Assembly on Thursday, Terra Nova MHA Lloyd Parrott said the incident left behind wreckage at a Gooseberry Cove cemetery, accusing the provincial government of so far failing to fix the damage.

"The problem is the inaction with government for something that they've known about," Parrott told reporters.

"Now we've got a tragedy that affects a family that's grieving the loss of a loved one and they are left to pick up the pieces, and it's just totally unacceptable."

Gooseberry Cove is located in Trinity Bay and is a 196-kilometre drive from St. John's.

At the site, Parrott said there's a "significant smell of fuel" and an oil sheen visible on the ground, as well as a nearby pond that residents use.

CBC News has contacted the family, who declined to comment.

Parrott also said one or more bodies would have to be exhumed to allow for remediation.

He said he blamed the long-standing poor condition of the road for the incident.

"It needs to be fixed. There was a fuel spill at the time. There was extensive damage done to the cemetery, and now it appears to me as if the family is left to do the work of government. Insurance companies are dealing with them," he said.

Given the state of the cemetery, he said the local church might not be able to bury anyone if it was called on.

Terra Nova MHA Lloyd Parrott said poor road conditions led to the incident and that the provincial government has known about it for years. (Mark Quinn/CBC)

Parrott said he did not accept Transportation and Infrastructure Minister John Abbott's explanation given during question period that the government is working on a solution, saying it's been months and nothing has been done.

While Parrott hasn't spoken with the impacted family, he said he's been in contact with members of the community, like the church association.

"These people are grieving, they want this dealt with by one individual and there should be someone in government who deals with this directly with the family," said Parrott.

Abbott says government is acting

Abbott said if the province is at fault, it will cover the damages.

He also said the province has referred the incident to an insurance company.

"They are taking care of all the issues and will respond, obviously to whatever the damages are," he said.

An environmental consultant examined the site and he said the oil slick is to be assessed for clean up.

"So as soon as we get the sign off on the different parts of that, we're acting to clean up, repair and replace any damaged fencing, land and water," Abbott said. "Whatever is needed."

He said the government hasn't delayed acting on the problem and said they need the family involved to agree with what actions the government takes.

"That's not automatic in that regard. So we're working as diligently as possible to make sure we can put everything back in order, but it's taking some time. But we're literally on it on a daily basis."

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