The Prince Albert Grand Council says it is high time an all-weather road was built in the Wollaston Lake area of northern Saskatchewan.
The Hatchet Lake Dene Nation is currently served by a winter ice road and for much of the year access is only possible by air or water transport.
PAGC Vice-Chief Joseph Tsannie says these options are not always safe for those going in and out of the community.
“Just recently this fall, we lost an elder to drowning just trying to cross the lake into the community,” he says. “And before that, there was a teacher that went through the ice and drowned trying to get across the road.”
Tsannie adds limited access into Hatchet Lake and other far northern communities means there are very high costs in terms of getting goods in.
“So, we face a lot of challenges and the high cost of transport and freight getting into these communities.”
The PAGC says it has been lobbying provincial and federal governments to build an approximately 100-kilometre year-round road into Hatchet Lake for close to 30 years.
It is estimated the all-weather road would cost approximately $67 million.
Tsannie and PAGC Chief Brian Hardlotte met with provincial government officials in Regina last week to discuss the Wollaston Lake road and other pressing issues.
(PHOTO: Prince Albert Grand Council Vice-Chief Joseph Tsannie. File photo.)