A tour of nothern Saskatchewan was held last week, which included leaders and various representatives. (Facebook/Gary Vidal)

By Derek Cornet

infrastructure

Hatchet Lake pressures province to further contribute to northern seasonal road

Sep 8, 2023 | 5:26 PM

Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation is calling upon the provincial government to assist in completing a seasonal road connecting the community and Wollaston Lake to Highway 905.

Construction on the road began in April 2020 after Indigenous Services Canada announced it was contributing $6.5 million over a two-year period on the project. At the time, the province committed a payment of $250,000, as well as responsibility for maintenance and operation of the road, which was estimated to be $250,000 annually.

Hatchet Lake Chief Bart Tsannie explained construction on the road is ongoing, but it likely won’t be finished for at least another two years.

“Work is slow and the terrain is tough,” he said. “Our costs are really high in a lot of areas, especially housing, but everything. If we had that road, there is going to be a lot of difference with costs. Even if you have to fly out of here, the full fare is like $800 to get to Prince Albert.”

Tsannie raised the issue with Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River Conservative MP Gary Vidal and Sask. Party MLA Jim Lemaigre (Athabasca) last week. The two leaders were part of a northern tour organized by Athabasca Basin Development, which also included members of the Saskatchewan Area Transportation Planning Committee.

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The party toured communities such as Black Lake, Hatchet Lake, Fond du Lac, Stony Rapids and Wollaston Lake over the span of two days. Community engagement sessions were held to gather feedback from local residents and leaders.

“We had a chat with Gary … because he’s representing our nation here too,” Tsannie said. “He’s an MP for us and has to speak on behalf of Hatchet Lake for the road, too. That’s the way I see it.”

Vidal told larongeNOW he was willing to lobby on behalf of the community for further provincial involvement on the seasonal road. He noted there were provincial transportation officials on the tour and there was a commitment from them to bring community concerns to government decision makers.

“They are going back to look at it and they promised the community members and the leaders that they would respond to them in due course, and I don’t believe they expected that to take a long time for them to get back to them on some of those conclusions,” Vidal said. “My role has been to kind of advocate with Indigenous Services Canada, and I have done that over the last couple of years.”

Vidal mentioned when he visits communities, it is always a good opportunity to talk to people and see firsthand the challenges they are facing. For instance, he was concerned about the high cost of living in the Far North, particularly when it comes to basic necessities like groceries. Hatchet Lake leadership believes some of those costs can be alleviated upon completion on the seasonal road.

On return to Ottawa, Vidal stated he will continue lobbying efforts with federal government and continue to raise concerns about the carbon tax. He also added he has started to look into the Nutrition North Canada program as well.

“That’s one of the areas where I think maybe there are some gaps,” Vidal said. “We are going to go back and investigate that program and how it applies to some of those communities, specifically because it seems like there are some inequities in the eligibility and how that program is laid out.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com