Fort William First Nation needs direct route to Thunder Bay now, chief says
Fort William First Nation chief Peter Collins is calling on the federal and provincial governments to create a direct, alternate route between Thunder Bay and the First Nation, after an accident closed Highway 61 Tuesday morning.
Collins told a recent chief's meeting that the closure cut off access for emergency vehicles at a critical time.
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"With that accident, there was also a young lady that was found unresponsive in our community. And it took over an hour for that ambulance to get into our community," he said.
The city of Thunder Bay has been locked in a dispute with CN over the repair of the James Street Bridge, which was closed to vehicle traffic in 2013 due to fire damage.
It comes after an accident closed Highway 61 yesterday (TUES) morning which happened at a critical time for emergency vehicles to access the community.