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LETTER: Mackenzie Valley Highway important to regions

From: Shane Thompson, MLA Nahendeh

Dear editor,

An NNSL editorial recently described the business case for the Mackenzie Valley Highway project as "all moonbeams and unicorns." I disagree.

Last month's $140-million funding announcement – with $102.5 million to come from the Government of Canada – is no simple "feel-good project," but one full of promise for many residents, including those I represent in Nahendeh. It offers a practical alternative to limited winter roads and fresh opportunities for employment, access, and entrepreneurship, as well as lowered costs of living and economic diversification.

In the next decade, roughly one-third of all job openings will require a college diploma or trades certification. The GNWT's forecast shows that jobs in demand will include heavy-duty equipment crews, construction contractors, and ground transit operators, and service-sector jobs like cooks, purchasers, and bookkeepers. These positions must be filled – not to "score political points," but to bring the full territory, not just the capital, into a more prosperous future. The project will also boost local contractors and bolster residents hard hit by increases to the cost of living. Food is moved more cheaply by road than by barge or air, as are construction materials and new homes. This means lower costs, healthier options, and savings for both residents and the GNWT.

Does highway construction come at the expense of tourism or the knowledge economy? Absolutely not. I see options for new territorial parks, as well as further studies of our land, animals, and cultural and historical sites. Near the planned worksite, Mount Gaudet and Roche-qui-trempe-a-l'eau are already unique attractions in their own right, while further north, the Great Bear River could be a powerful draw.

Confronting our infrastructure deficit is not an either/or proposition. For this project, the GNWT tapped into the National Trade Corridors Fund, but there's more federal money out there, and with my colleagues in the Legislative Assembly, I've advocated that the GNWT pursue it. Initiatives like the federal Clean Energy Innovation Program are just one option. It is not a matter of highways versus hydro, but pursuing projects as opportunities arise to benefit the territory as a whole.

This work is key to important opportunities for the Dehcho and Sahtu regions. "Some day" is today.