Getting in and out of the remote First Nation of Slate Falls has been an expensive and challenging task for the people of the community over the years. It will all change by 2005.
The provincial and federal governments, McKenzie Forest Products and the Slate Falls First Nation will team up to construct an all-season road to the community nestled on Bamaji Lake.
“This all-season road will open up new economic opportunities and foster well-being by improving our capacity to move goods, services and people to and from our community,” says Slate Falls First Nation Chief George Bunting.
Currently,access to the community is achieved by chartered flights and a winter road. Both options are costly and have drawbacks, he says. Flying in hundreds of tonnes of goods annually is expensive.
The winter road is usually snow-packed, icy and requires expensive maintenance.
The partners will share the price tag of $8.4 million to construct the 50.7-kilometre road.
The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. (NOHFC), through its Far North Assistance Program (FNAP), will supply up to $2.5 million for the project.
“This was the first initiative under FNAP,” says Michel Lavoie, communications co-ordinator for NOHFC. “It is a great project that will link the people of Slate Falls to existing roads and opportunities.”
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), through its Regional Partnerships Fund, will add up to $2.5 million for the project.
“This project is exactly the type of venture INAC’s Regional Partnership Fund supports,” says Kai Koivukoski, policy analyst for the Northern Infrastructure Implementation Team with INAC. “By allowing a road to go into the community off a forest access road, the community can take part in the forest activities in the area.”
The federal and provincial funding will be spent on constructing approximately 25 kilometres of road.
McKenzie Forest Products, which is part of the Buchanan Group, will chip in $3.4 million towards the project.
“I think this is a good thing that benefits everyone involved,” says Hartley Multamaki, vice-president of planning and development with the Buchanan Group. “We are moving forward with a road that will provide economic opportunities for the people of Slate Falls.”
McKenzie Forest Products will be responsible for about 25.6 kilometres of road construction.
By opening up Slate Falls, McKenzie Forest Products will be able to have road access into the northern working circle of the Lac Seul forest.
“We will receive the benefits of being able to harvest wood out of those areas and allow us to use Slate Falls First Nation as a source of labour,” says Multamaki. “We are always looking for talented and dedicated people who are willing to live and work out in the forest.”
McKenzie Forest Products, Slate Falls First Nation and INAC have already invested about $1.2 million in project planning, negotiations and engineering design work.
The long working history between Slate Falls First Nation and McKenzie Forest Products made for a strong and compelling selling point for INAC.
“The two parties coming to us, and their working relationship, made this project great,” says Koivukoski. “It went through the system quickly and received a lot of support to the point where the minister identified it as an example of something to build on.”
Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2003, once final design and federal environment approvals are in place, with completion before the end of March 2005.The new road will hook up with the existing Vermilion River Road. A new phone system to replace the one operator-assisted telephone system is another benefit expected with the new road. The all-season road will open a new world to about 200 people in the Slate Falls community.
