https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Marten Falls will collaborate with province on first stage of Ring of Fire road
One isolated First Nation community near the Ring of Fire declares that a year-round access road will bring a “prosperous, sustainable, and more inclusive future for its elders, youth and families.” In an Aug. 31 news release, Marten Falls said the time has come to finally be connected to the provincial highway system after “years of negotiating and planning” for a community access road.
Premier Kathleen Wynne’s two-corridor Ring of Fire road proposal unveiled in Thunder Bay on Aug. 21 was initially being celebrated as a breakthrough in finally making progress on development in the stalled Far North mineral camp.
Within days, the chiefs of four of the five communities closest to the Ring of Fire either backtracked on their support for a east-west shared community/industrial road, or vowed to stop its planned construction in early 2019.
But Marten Falls is signaling it’s only too willing to work with the province in planning and building a north-south road.
“Marten Falls sees this as an opportunity for present and future generations of families who want to live in the community and be gainfully and proudly employed. At the same time, this is also an opportunity for other regional and remote First Nations to connect with the north-south corridor and participate in related socioeconomic benefits,” said the community release.
The remote community of 330 is located 170 kilometres northeast of Nakina.According to a rudimentary map provided by the province, the access road to Marten Falls follows a path that begins in the Nakina-Aroland area and goes halfway to the Ring of Fire before doglegging to the right and into community.
For the rest of this article: https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/regional-news/far-north-ring-of-fire/north-south-road-offers-way-out-of-poverty-isolation-for-first-nation-707922