MANITOBA ROAD PROJECT continued
arising from the limits of a one-month-a-year ice road. “We can’t get our building materials.” Lack of access also cramps a healthy lifestyle. Milk, a perishable product, is hard to come by, and runs $12 to $14 for a four-litre jug. Instead, children drink a cheaper alternative – pop. There is a doctor who flies into Wasagamack one day each week, Knott says, but that’s not often enough. Anyone needing more care must travel to Winnipeg. With a one-way flight to Winnipeg costing $266, on top of the $80 charge to take a boat to the airport, at St. Theresa Point, overnight accommodation and food in Winnipeg, it is almost $1,000 for a medical appointment. It’s a situation that is going to be remedied by development of the road network. Technically, it will be two separate roads, one in the south part of the East Side region, and another in the north. In March 2010, the Manitoba government announced a $72.5 million investment for the first stage of the road project, a 160-kilometer stretch from Public Road 304, near Manigotagan, to Berens River First Nation. Completion is planned for 2014. It’s the first of 15 such annual injections in the province’s business plan. The next section is a northern east-west portion to link Island Lake Communities (including Wasagamack) and Northern Cree Communities to Public Road 373. So far, the Manitoba government has committed
$1.125 billion to the project, but has been unable to get any federal funding at all says Gilroy, who is still hoping to secure some sort of federal commitment. Once the Roads are built snow is gone all the time, but most roads in the region there’s an element deteriorate to to this project that muddy, rutted tracks like makes it a bit difthis one. ferent from other road construction initiatives. “Our mandate is to not simply build a road, but to build an economy,” Gilroy says. “Unemployment is extremely high in this area.” Much of the program has involved establishing “community benefit agreements” with the communities in an attempt to ensure jobs, training and economic benefits are maximized for local residents. “This is sustainable development,” Gilroy says, explaining the expected benefits for the communities. First, millions of cubic meters of gravel will be needed in
These 16 men and women are graduates from the Introduction to Construction Course in Berens River First Nation, and will be among the first to find work on the road expansion projects.
10 DECEMBER 2010 • NATIVE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MAGAZINE