No federal funding for Mackenzie Valley Highway in budget, but project still on the radar

The federal Liberal's latest budget does not earmark money specifically for the proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway, but they are open to working with the N.W.T. government on developing the project, says Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

The territorial government has long lobbied for the Mackenzie Valley Highway, a massive all-season road proposal that would connect N.W.T. communities of the Mackenzie Valley with the South.

"We didn't think we should be prescriptive in something as big as a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year investment in infrastructure," LeBlanc said of the project.

 "We want to talk to the government of Premier [Bob] McLeod, we want to talk to other partners and, frankly, follow their priorities."

'We depend on that road'

The absence of money for the highway stood out to Dene National Chief Norman Yakeleya.

He said the construction of a year-round road could prevent vehicles from getting stuck or stranded when the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road melts, which is what happened on Wednesday.

"We use that road and we depend on that road to help us out with the high cost of living," said Yakeleya.

"So for myself, along with the Sahtu people, I know we'd like to see the continuation of the Mackenzie Valley Highway."

The federal budget, released on Tuesday, proposes more money to expand and improve northern roads, ports and other infrastructure — an increase of up to $400 million over eight years, starting in the 2020-21 fiscal year, under the National Trade Corridors Fund.

LeBlanc said that funding increase is in response to requests he's received from territorial premiers and Indigenous leaders in the North.

"There is a recognition across the board that infrastructure costs in northern Canada are necessarily more expensive than similar projects in southern Canada, whether it's port infrastructure, highway infrastructure … even access to materials make the cost of these projects, in many cases, prohibitive," LeBlanc said in an interview.

Taltson funding

The budget earmarks $18 million over the next three years for detailed engineering and environmental planning for the proposed Taltson hydroelectric system expansion.

LeBlanc said while the planning is underway — a process that he said is expected to take two to three years — the government would be looking to identify a number of federal funding sources for the construction.

"So one of the things I think we'd want as part of the planning exercise is to see exactly where the Taltson expansion should properly fit into sources of federal funding, and there are a number of options and it probably should not only be one," he said.

"My conversations with [MP] Michael McLeod and Bob [McLeod] have very much been focused on the government of Canada finding a number of options where we could partner.

"The first thing we need to do is have a detailed engineering and environmental plan that we can then shop around to the proper funding partners."