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 closure of most of the province's winter roads on Friday brought to an end a season that saw benefits to the delivery of essential services to northern communities, Transportation and Government Services Minister Ron Lemieux said. "With the co-operation of First Nation communities and participating contractors, this has been one of our most successful seasons in recent years," said Lemieux. "This working relationship has helped build a school, supply nursing stations, and develop water and sewer projects in our northern communities." This year, 2,000 shipments of fuel, construction materials and general freight were hauled by truck over the winter routes to aid in the expansion of education, health and essential services delivery in remote communities. Lemieux noted that, since 1999, spending on the seasonal road system has tripled, with the aim of using more overland routes, improving safety, allowing the roads to stay open longer each season, reducing construction difficulties and addressing environmental concerns. To achieve these objectives, the province has identified a number of strategies, including the relocation of existing winter roads, the construction of new roads as well as upgrading existing winter and forestry roads, and exploring enhanced rail and ferry services. The initiative is a part of the government's broader access and Northern Development strategies, which require that government departments co-ordinate their efforts to meet the objectives of the strategies and make northern development a priority in their everyday decision-making. "We understand the challenges facing our northern neighbours and we're striving to make investments that pay off in improving the quality of their daily lives," Lemieux said. With the closing of most of the winter roads, all inspection and maintenance services will end and the roads are considered unsafe for travel under any conditions. Manitoba's winter road system runs about 2,174 kilometres, linking approximately 38,000 Manitobans in 28 communities with no permanent road access.
