IGNACE - One can’t truck nuclear waste to an underground storage facility on a highway system that’s unsafe, unreliable and incapable of supporting nationally significant projects.
That’s the message the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) and the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) are sending to Ottawa in the wake of the feds announcing a new batch of nationally important projects.
The proposed Deep Geological Repository, outside Ignace, is on the list along with the Mackenzie Valley Highway Project in the Northwest Territories and the Grays Bay Road and Port Project in Nunavut.
While the Carney government hasn’t officially designed the repository as a project as a nationally significant, the feds said this week there’s a firm possibility the repository is earmarked for the Major Projects Office to fast-track the facility through the regulatory approvals process and quickly into construction.
NOMA and FONOM are throwing their collective support behind listing the repository as a project of national interest. But the groups argue that if the Mackenzie Valley Highway Project and the Grays Bay Road and Port Project are considered strategic infrastructure by Ottawa, then so should Highways 11 and 17 be included in the conversation.
The regional municipal groups have been waging an unrelenting lobbying campaign to pressure the Ontario and federal government to invest in modernizing these northern highways by four-laning, what they consider, vital east-west corridors. They regards 11 and 17 as critical links for national trade, supply chains, emergency services, resource development, and community connectivity.
Northern mayors have been taking their case to Parliament Hill.
"The federal government's announcement reinforces an important reality: nation-building projects require nation-building infrastructure," said NOMA President Rick Dumas in a statement. "Whether we are talking about critical minerals, national defence, energy development, or the future transportation of used nuclear fuel, Highway 11 and Highway 17 remain essential to connecting Northern Ontario and Canada."
FONOM President Dave Plourde said there’s no sense waiting until major projects are approved to begin planning for the infrastructure needs.
"Major highway projects take years to plan, design, permit, and build. If governments believe these projects are important to Canada's future, then they must also recognize the importance of investing now in the transportation corridors that will support them."
