MP ASHTON: Feds Must Invest in All Weather Roads for First Nations

THOMPSON - Today, MP Niki Ashton (Churchill--Keewatinook Aski) rose in the House of Commons to call on the government to fund an all-weather road system for communities across Northern Manitoba such as the East Side First Nations. There are 18 First Nation and Northern communities in our region that rely on an ice road system for survival that due to climate change, is less and less dependable every year.

"For a few weeks a year, thousands of Indigenous people depend on temporary ice roads, we call winter roads to bring in fuel, building supplies, water trucks, equipment, bulk food. What they need to survive," said Ashton. "These First Nations have severe housing crises and a shockingly high cost of living. Ice roads are a lifeline but they are disappearing. A warming and unpredictable climate mean shorter seasons. And this year is even worse."

When the Provincial Conservatives canceled decades of good work on this done by the provincial NDP, the Federal Liberals shrugged but there's a clear federal component. "It’s time the Federal Government work with First Nations to build an all-weather road system. It’s time the Federal Government gets serious about climate change and stands with Indigenous communities who are already paying the price."