TORONTO – Last week the Ontario provincial government announced it is working with Webequie, Marten Falls and Nibinamik First Nations to plan and construct a year-round access road into the proposed mining development site dubbed the Ring of Fire, about 400 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
The government announced it will support First Nations to plan and construct an east-west road connecting the Webequie and Nibinamik communities to the provincial highway network north of Pickle Lake as well as support the Marten Falls First Nation to plan and construct an access road connecting the community to the existing provincial highway network at Aroland/Nakina.
Pending approvals, construction will begin in 2019.
“Building these roads is a critical step in realizing the economic benefits of one of the biggest mineral-development opportunities in Ontario in almost a century. Funding for these roads is part of the government's commitment to invest $1 billion in Ring of Fire infrastructure to create jobs, provide long-term benefits and improve quality of life for people in the region,” says the press release.
Great. However, we thought, what about a fibre run to deliver broadband, too? Or wireless. So we asked and this is the answer which came from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, in an email.
“Ontario is supportive of initiatives that focus on community-based social and economic supports, such as access to necessary technical services. We remain committed to working together with Indigenous, federal, and private-sector partners to ensure communities in the Ring of Fire region have access to the best possible broadband infrastructure,” reads the statement.
“Access to high-speed internet infrastructure is critical for economic development, access to health care, and delivery of education, skills and training in remote Northern Ontario. In order to move forward with sustainable and collaborative development in the Ring of Fire, we must ensure that Matawa-member First Nations are ready and able to access and benefit from investments in community and regional infrastructure, leading to improved overall quality of life. Infrastructure such as broadband and multi-purpose access roads would support access to the region and support development activities.
“The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM), in partnership with the federal government, has been working with Matawa First Nations to bring modern fibre-optic cable to the Ring of Fire region. Through support from the provincial and federal governments, Matawa First Nations have been able to consult with members to secure community approvals, address stakeholder concerns, and conduct preliminary design and costing estimates,” continues the statement.
“Through the Connect to Innovate program, the federal government will invest $500 million by 2021 to bring high-speed Internet to rural and remote communities (Ed note: That amount is for all of Canada). MNDM has been working closely with the federal government and Matawa First Nations to support a comprehensive application to the program, which is currently under review.
“While there may be opportunities to parallel construction of the all-season road network with broadband cable, it is not necessary to have a permanent road corridor to do this. The majority of fibre-optic cable laid to connect 21 remote communities as part of the Northwestern Ontario Broadband Expansion Initiative – which was completed in 2014 – follows existing seasonal winter road alignments, including a significant amount of submarine cable,” concludes the statement. (Ed note: The NOBEI was an $81 million fund launched in 2010 which delivered fibre to some pretty far flung communities.)
Added Chief Cornelius Wabasse, Webequie First Nation, in a press release about the new roads: “The initiative will further define the routing for a multi-purpose corridor which will accommodate infrastructure projects such as roads, transmission lines and broadband. Our Land Stewardship and environment protection will be a priority for the people of Webequie First Nation, as it is our inherent right stemming from our three tier land base model to implement benefit relationship agreements with both levels of government.”
So, long story short – if we can be permitted to paraphrase all of that – is there will be government support available to build broadband infrastructure down these new highways when they’re built, but no hard, fast, plans have yet been hammered out.
