Liberals, NDP promise to speed up construction of northern Manitoba road

Federal candidates are debating funding to speed up construction on an all-season road to Berens River First Nation, even though community members are split over it.

The head of the East Side Road Authority said the federal government has not contributed any money to the project thus far, and if the feds came to the table with funding, the project timeline could be cut in half.

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"We would love to get this fast-tracked. Basically, it makes the difference of a generation. One generation earlier will be able to be contacted by the outside world," said Ernie Gilroy, CEO of the Manitoba East Side Road Authority.

The first part of the east side all-season road project stretches 156 kilometres from PR 304 to Berens River. The goal is to connect Berens River to southern Manitoba by 2019-20.

The full all-season network will link 13 isolated First Nations on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. The cost estimate is $3 billion and it is expected to take three decades to complete. So far the province of Manitoba has invested $300 million but the authority thinks the feds should get involved.

"When you're talking to the federal government, 96 per cent of the people who live on the east side of Lake Winnipeg are status Indians, 36,000 people. First Nations are a federal responsibility," Gilroy said.

Liberals and NDP make same promise 

The NDP and Liberal candidates for the federal riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski have made essentially the same promise for the East Side Road.

"I'm proud that our leader, Tom Mulcair, in presenting our indigenous platform to work with the Manitoba government and First Nations to speed up the all-weather road," NDP incumbent Niki Ashton said. "I think it's important to mention that that's a clear commitment." 

"As their MP, that's something that I'm going to lobby for," said Liberal Rebecca Chartrand. "We can't tell the provinces where to build the roads, but we heard what Justin Trudeau said when he was here: that was important for him."

CBC News reached out to the Conservative and Green candidates from the riding, but neither responded with a position on funding for the all-season road.

Road to 'new world' or new problems

The province has promised Berens River will be connected to southern Manitoba by 2019 regardless of federal funding, and yet many band members don't want the road.

"Is it going to bring in more things, cons?" said Berens River School principal Nancy Whiteway, 52, who is concerned about what it will mean for the children. "I'm just worried about what it's going to bring and what we're going to lose."

Just to get out of here and see the other world- Jessie Flett, Berens River band member

The remote First Nation is only accessible by winter road during the coldest months of the year. Otherwise, people have to fly or take a boat. Whiteway said an all-season road could allow access to drugs and gangs, or outside industry.

"How's it going to affect our fishing and our trapping, and the betterment of the community?" Whiteway said.

Alistair Sinclair, 49, doesn't trust the provincial and federal governments' intentions with the all-season road.

"They're not coming here for us," he said. "They're coming in for minerals or whatever's in the bush. Why do you think they're bypassing the reserves? They're not building roads into the reserve. They're telling us 'You have to build your own and connect to THAT road.'"

Generational divide

Sinclair, Whiteway and most of the other people concerned with the road are from the older generation on the reserve.

The younger people CBC News spoke to, such as 35-year-old Jessie Flett, want it badly and sooner rather than later.

"Just to get out of here and see the other world. The new world," he said.