Steve Ashton

We will be continuing to make major investments in Northern transportation and infrastructure.

That was one of the key messages of my speech to the Keewatin Tribal Council Assembly in Nelson House recently.

I was pleased to be able to speak to the Assembly as both Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation and as the representative of the provincial government.

Since 1999 we have increased our investment in highways by nearly 400%. We have made  major investments here in Northern Manitoba. This includes investments in our highways, airports, winter roads and ferries.

We are now moving to expand the all weather road network. The East Side Road Authority will be investing more than $70 million this year on the first stage of this expansion. They are also moving to finalize the route selection process. We are also working on improved transportation access to other Northern communities.

Keewatin Tribal Council has played a key role in the expansion of the all weather road network. Nine of the eleven KTC communities lack all weather road access. The route selection process was initiated after a meeting with Keewatin Tribal Council Grand Chief Arnold Ouskan and provincial ministers on this important issue several years ago.

I also acknowledged KTC’s lead role in identifying the impacts of the early closure of the winter road this year. I worked directly with Grand Chief Ouskan on the problems that resulted from the closure.

We will also be announcing major additional work on our existing road network as well as airport improvements and upgraded ferries.

Housing is also a key priority. We have begun partnering with KTC to provide additional housing.

Another key area of importance in the North is in the area of economic development. KTC has made economic development a major priority. I stressed the importance of partnerships for Northern economic development.

At the assembly, I stressed the importance of the work that KTC and the eleven KTC First Nations have done on Northern and Aboriginal issues. I also stressed that while we have been making progress there is much more to do.

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