Ice Road Fatality Renews Push For All-Weather Road
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 15:45
A Hatchet Lake band councillor says a recent tragedy at Wollaston Lake is going to spur the community into action.
Ed Benoanie says the community is devastated at yesterday’s news of one of its teachers being found dead in the lake.
RCMP discovered the woman and her vehicle submerged in ice after her husband alerted them that she hadn’t returned from a trip to Points North.
Benoanie says the province and federal government need to meet with the community to talk about finishing the all-weather road.
He says the community has raised concerns about the road situation in the past with the province and Ottawa, and he says it shouldn’t take a tragedy to make something happen.
Benoanie also says there will be consequences if the two levels of government don’t agree to meet community leaders about this issue — including civil disobedience.
He says he knew the teacher well, as she taught his daughter.
Benoanie adds getting the road finished is now a personal mission of his.
The school was closed yesterday and today, and grief counsellors were brought in to speak to the students, many of whom were in tears.