Road Safety for All: My Position and Commitment
Safer roads. Meaningful consultation. Accountable action.
Road safety is an important issue across Niagara, including for migrant farm workers who face unique transportation challenges travelling between where they live, work and access essential services.
I was recently invited by the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change to sign its Road Safety for All Pledge, which outlines seven commitments intended to improve road safety for migrant farm workers.
I appreciate the organization's advocacy and support its objectives of improving road safety, addressing identified hazards and ensuring migrant workers have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting them.
I chose not to sign the pledge. That does not mean I oppose its objectives.
My decision reflects my approach to public policy: understand the problem, engage those affected, evaluate the available options, establish clear responsibilities and deliver measurable results.
My Position, Explained
The following three graphics explain my decision, the commitments I made and how I believe those commitments should be delivered.
1. Safer Roads. A Clear Position.
2. What I Committed To
3. Commitments Need a Clear Path to Delivery
Why I Chose Not to Sign
The pledge raises legitimate concerns about transportation safety and the experiences of migrant farm workers.
I support addressing those concerns. However, I believe commitments made by elected officials should be accompanied by a clear understanding of responsibilities, available resources, implementation requirements and measurable outcomes.
Some proposed actions fall within municipal responsibilities, while others involve Niagara Region, the Province of Ontario or cooperation among multiple organizations.
I recognize that municipal councillors can and should advocate for improvements beyond their direct jurisdiction. I am prepared to do that where there is a demonstrated need.
My preference is to advance road safety through a comprehensive approach that considers the needs of all road users, including migrant farm workers, while recognizing that some groups face particular risks and barriers that require focused attention.
Supporting an objective and endorsing every commitment within a specific pledge are not necessarily the same thing.
My Original Response to the Migrant Workers Alliance
I believe voters deserve the full context of a candidate's position.
The organization's public pledge tracker identifies candidates according to whether they signed. While that accurately reflects my decision not to sign, it does not communicate the support and commitments expressed in my response.
For transparency, I am sharing my original correspondence below.
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Tom Neale <tom.neale.stcward2@gmail.com>
Thu, Oct 1, 7:17 PM
to A, kit@migrantworkersalliance.org
Hi Amber,
Thank you for reaching out. I appreciate the work that has gone into identifying the transportation and road safety challenges experienced by migrant farm workers in Niagara and the advocacy by the Migrant Workers Alliance.
I support the objectives behind this initiative, and they align closely with commitments already included in my broader platform.
Road safety is an important part of my transportation and infrastructure priorities. I support a comprehensive approach that looks at where safety risks exist, uses evidence and community experience to identify priorities, and considers practical improvements to infrastructure, transit, active transportation and connections between where people live, work and access essential services.
An important part of that approach is listening to the people who actually use our transportation network. Migrant farm workers have experiences and transportation needs that should be part of that conversation. If elected, I would support engaging directly with migrant workers and organizations representing them as part of broader road safety and transportation planning, particularly when identifying unsafe routes and barriers to accessing employment, groceries, health care and other essential services.
I also recognize that many transportation issues cross municipal boundaries and involve the Niagara Region and other levels of government. I would work collaboratively with those partners to advance practical, evidence-based improvements while ensuring that responsibilities, funding and outcomes are clearly understood and measured.
My approach throughout my platform is to Listen, Analyze, Decide, Deliver, Measure. I believe road safety should be approached the same way: listen to the people affected, understand the evidence and risks, develop practical solutions, implement them responsibly and measure whether they are actually making people safer.
Although I am pursuing this through a broader road safety and transportation plan rather than signing individual pledges, I want to be clear that I support the goal of making our roads safer for migrant farm workers and all road users, and I would welcome the opportunity to work with your organization as part of that process.
Thank you again for reaching out and for advocating on this important issue.
Best regards,
Tom Neale, P.Eng.
Candidate for St. Catharines City Council
Ward 2 | St. Andrew's
www.tomneale.ca
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I welcome continued discussion with the organization and the migrant workers it represents.
Public Safety and My Responsibilities as a Professional Engineer
As a licensed Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) in Ontario, protecting public welfare is a fundamental principle of my profession.
Professional Engineers Ontario's Code of Ethics, established under Ontario Regulation 941, section 77, requires practitioners to:
"regard the practitioner's duty to public welfare as paramount."
The Code also emphasizes integrity, competence, fairness and fidelity to public needs.
These principles inform how I approach engineering, infrastructure and public policy.
Public safety requires more than identifying a concern. It requires understanding the risks, listening to affected communities, considering appropriate technical solutions and evaluating how improvements can be implemented effectively.
As an engineer, I understand that decisions involving infrastructure and public safety can have significant consequences. They deserve careful analysis, professional judgment and accountability.
The PEO Code of Ethics does not determine which political pledges I should sign. However, its emphasis on public welfare reinforces my commitment to taking safety concerns seriously and pursuing practical, informed solutions.
Public safety deserves more than a signature. It deserves informed decisions, practical action and accountability for results.
Ontario Regulation 941, Section 77
My Commitments Moving Forward
If elected to St. Catharines City Council for Ward 2, I will:
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Listen: Engage directly with migrant workers and organizations representing them to understand unsafe routes, transportation challenges and barriers to essential services.
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Assess and Act: Use available safety evidence, infrastructure assessments and community experience to identify and support practical improvements.
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Work Together: Collaborate with Niagara Region, neighbouring municipalities, provincial authorities and community partners to address issues that extend beyond City jurisdiction.
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Deliver and Measure: Advocate for clearly defined actions, responsible funding and measurable outcomes.
These commitments are consistent with my broader platform priorities for safer streets, responsible infrastructure investment, improved transportation connections and accountable municipal government.
I remain open to working with the Migrant Workers Alliance and other organizations to advance practical improvements that make our roads safer.
My approach remains:
Listen → Analyze → Decide → Deliver → Measure
I believe the public should judge candidates not simply by the pledges they sign, but by the commitments they make, the decisions they take and the results they deliver.
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