Following the release today of the report on our pages on the tragedy narrowly avoided on Route 172 due to the lack of cellphone coverage, Saguenay Region Minister for Municipal Affairs Andrée Laforest said she was “relieved at the worst.” is averted”.
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Ms Laforest replied via email that the story witnessed by Juliette Bouchard and her three friends was “worrying”.
It is recalled that the four Cégep de Chicoutimi students turned on Route 172 on Saturday and were unable to receive assistance from 911 due to the lack of cell service in the area.
“We are relieved that the worst has been avoided in this incident and it is certain that Ms Pineault’s story is worrying,” responded the minister.
Mireille Pineault, Juliette’s mother, denounced on several platforms that there is no network on a section of about 40 km of this road that connects Sacré-Coeur with Saguenay.
“Our government has committed to completing mobile coverage in the next mandate and we will keep our word. As early as October 5, we launched a tender to map Quebec’s cellular network. This is the first step towards completing the network,” the minister reminded.
“Also, I spoke to the prefect of MRC du Fjord yesterday (Tuesday) and significant investments have already been made to improve the situation in this sector,” she added.
“It’s an important issue in our region, we see it when accidents like this happen,” Ms. Laforest concluded.