The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The mayor of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut has asked Prime Minister Paul Martin to support the construction of a proposed road between Nunavut and Northern Manitoba. During a community meeting for which Martin was present Saturday, Mayor Lorne Kusugak indirectly told the prime minister that the road is a key to economic development in the region "That would be your legacy," the mayor was quoted as telling Martin. The prime minister promised he wouldn't forget the suggestion after returning to Ottawa following a five-day tour of the nation's north. "Clearly transportation is an essential part of opening up resources and it's also a very important part of quality of life," he said. "So I think it's the kind of thing that we do want to work on." The federal government has committed some $500,000 to a feasibility study for the proposed all-weather road, which would serve residents in the southern part of Nunavut, called the Kivalliq Region. See 'Service' P.# Con't from P.# "The thought is that Manitoba could become a service centre for that part of the Nunavut territory," Doug McMahan, a regional transportation director for the Manitoba government, told the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce earlier this year. The idea for the link would be to start with a winter road before possibly upgrading to a permanent route. The road study includes three potential starting points for the road ? the Lynn Lake, Thompson and Gillam areas. The route would start from one of these locations and head north to Nunavut, also providing a link to Churchill along the way. Such a road, McMahan said, would provide Manitoba businesses with a fresh batch of customers who currently have limited services and retail options. Opening up the remote region might also lead to health and social benefits, he said. A map McMahan shared with the chamber showed more than a dozen mineral exploration sites in the far northern part of Manitoba as well as Nunavut. He said a roadway would be a boon to prospectors looking at the mining potential in the area. He estimates an all-weather road connecting Manitoba with Nunavut would cost between $1.6-$1.9 billion, with annual maintenance costs in the neighbourhood of $10 million.
