Process-oriented

Noted dissident George Andrews expressed concern last night and today on VOCM's airwaves, over the lack of reliability in the loaner-phone program that is available to users of the Trans-Labrador Highway, at least between Labrador West and Happy Valley-Goose Bay:

Traveller Says Satellite Phones Unreliable - Jan 20, 2009

A man from Goose Bay is raising concerns about the province's emergency satellite phone service after he and his family were involved in an accident on the Trans Labrador Highway. Satellite phones are provided to travellers at either end of the highway to use in case of emergency. George Andrews told VOCM Niteline with Ryan Cleary there were no serious injuries yesterday when their vehicle left the road and rolled several times...but it's what happened after the accident he fears could have had tragic results. Andrews says he walked some distance from the scene in frigid temperatures to get service to make a phone call, but ran into problems. He says he managed to get service for a few seconds, but soon lost it again. Andrews worries that the satellite phones provide travellers on the the Trans Labrador Highway with a false sense of security. He says his family could have died from exposure, because of the poor phone service.

On VOCM Open Line this morning, Minister of Highways Happiness Trevor Taylor agreed that the service needs improvement, and offered to help. However, he sounded a note of caution, saying:

You know what government acquisition processes are like.

Yes, we do know what government acquisition processes, especially for communications technology, are like.

They are often, like, untendered.