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.
From an economic point of view, the remote reservation of Pukatawagan represents an immense opportunity for Flin Flon. If the communities were to be connected by a road, Flin Flon could see some 1,500 new people shopping in its stores, staying in its hotels and eating in its restaurants. Naturally, the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce has a keen interest in the potential for a road to link Pukatawagan, often referred to simply as "Puk," with Highway 10. Now the Chamber will ask its provincial counterpart, the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, to lobby the province to have the potential road lead to Flin Flon. "The more people we have coming in, the better off we are," said secretary Gordon Mitchell, who will take the road resolution to the Manitoba Chamber's annual meeting this April. The roughly 1,500 residents of Pukatawagan, located 120 kilometres north of Flin Flon, currently rely on flights, weekly rail service and a winter road for a connection to larger centres. The province hasn't announced if an all-weather road from Pukatawagan will be built but has investigated the matter. Former transportation minister Steve Ashton told The Reminder in 2001 that the province sees the road as a necessity but would require money from both Pukatawagan and the federal government for it to become a reality. "We believe that, in the 21st century, we have to find ways to extend that access," said Ashton. The province has looked at a handful of potential routes for the road, including one that links with Thompson. Mitchell believes the Flin Flon option makes the most sense, pointing out that this community is closer to Pukatawagan than either Thompson or The Pas. Mitchell said a road to Flin Flon would also give visitors the option of traveling west via the Hanson Lake Road. With resources in Pukatawagan limited, the approximately 1,500 residents of the community rely on out-of-town businesses for many products and services. A road would no doubt attract more of those people to Flin Flon. With some businesses said to be taking a hit since the opening of the Flintoba Shopping Centre, Mitchell sees the potential road as a way for other businesses to welcome added traffic. "People don't come in just for a shopping mall," he said. Some of the added traffic could, in Mitchell's view, include the local airlines. He said it's more cost-efficient for Pukatawagan residents to fly to Flin Flon for goods rather than to The Pas, as many residents currently do. See 'Traffic' P.# Con't from P.# Mitchell, a former mayor of Flin Flon, also believes a Pukawatagan-Flin Flon road would bring more traffic to the Flin Flon General Hospital, thus helping to ensure the facility remains viable. Mitchell will take the Pukatawagan road resolution to the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce annual meeting in Brandon this April. Delegates will then vote on whether the Manitoba Chamber should lobby the province to build the road leading to Flin Flon. The Manitoba Chamber passed the same resolution back in 2002, but Mitchell said nothing developed from it. The Pukatawagan road was one issue discussed at yesterday's Chamber meeting, held at the Friendship Centre and attended by a dozen people. Here is a recap of other matters: The members voted to order 500 more Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce lapel pins for $1.83 apiece. The colourful pins, which depict the Chamber logo, Flinty and the Callinan Mine Headframe, are handed out as gifts. It was agreed that the Chamber would join the Business Builders Association in putting out a newsletter. The Business Builders already prints a newsletter four times per year, and Lois (Bunny) Burke, a member of both the Business Builders and the Chamber, said including Chamber news would not be a problem. The Chamber stopped issuing its own newsletter due to the frequent media coverage the organization garners.
