Chief Shawn Grandjambe in Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., says now is a great time for work to start on the Mackenzie Valley Highway.
“A lot of stuff is changing — climate change and everything is having a big effect on us up here. So it’s good timing,” Grandjambe said, following news that the federal government is funding the highway’s construction to the tune of $3.1 billion.
“It’s been a long time coming.”
The federal budget, announced Thursday afternoon, earmarks the funds between now and 2031. It also states Ottawa will pay for some maintenance costs.
The proposed highway — an 800-kilometre all-season road that would connect the last stretch of Highway 1 at Wrigley, N.W.T., to the Dempster Highway in Inuvik — was deemed a project of national interest earlier this year. The road would reduce reliance on seasonal transportation of barges and winter roads and has been touted as a project that supports national defence.
It’s long been on the wish list of leaders in the N.W.T., especially as the cost of living rises in the Sahtu region.
Grandjambe says the highway will probably help with the cost of living in Fort Good Hope, where groceries and necessities are currently barged or flown in.
Like Grandjambe, Josh Earls, president of the Norman Wells and District Chamber of Commerce, said he is hopeful the highway will help ease the cost of living, especially given how unreliable barges have been.
“It puts people at ease to know our costs will come down for our region,” he said.
Earls said the news is heartening in the midst of a tough year for his community, after Imperial Oil shuttered its century-old Norman Wells operation.
“It’s unbelievable. Literally, my phone has not stopped blowing up for the past hour since they announced it,” Earls said after the federal budget was announced.
“It’s a little bit surprising because we weren’t sure if it was ever going to happen … People are pretty excited here.”
He said he thinks it’ll save jobs that were put in jeopardy by the uncertainty created by Imperial Oil’s closure.
“I think not only will people be keeping their jobs, but we’ll also be looking for more opportunities and seeing how we could probably grow here in the future,” he said.
Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely said his reaction to the news is one of “endless happiness.”
“We’ve had indicators that looked and sounded positive, but the final proof in the pudding is in the budget,” he said.
“I’m just overwhelmed.”
McNeely said the investment matters because he sees a lot of potential for resource development in the Sahtu region. Building a highway could help access those resources — something he described as a “win-win” for the region, territory and country.
“It’s always been said that critical minerals is a return on investment for clean energy,” he said. “We have that.”
He said now, the work starts to get the communities ready to tackle construction and other jobs related to building the highway.
