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PEHDZEH KI/WRIGLEY
The social and environmental issues a highway spanning the Mackenzie Valley could have on residents were brought forward during a meeting in Wrigley last week.

Pehdzeh Ki First Nation Chief Sharon Pellissey points to potential issues, noted on cards, the Mackenzie Valley Highway could have on the environment and residents. The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board visited Wrigley on Sept. 9 as part of scoping sessions for the project's environmental assessment. - photo courtesy of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board

Some of the main points covered were protection of land, wildlife, the water and people, said Sharon Pellissey, Pehdzeh Ki First Nation chief.

"Social issues had came up quite a bit through the scoping session," she said.

The proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway is an 818-kilometre all-weather road from Wrigley to a point on the Dempster Highway south of Inuvik. The project's initial estimated cost comes in at about $1.7 billion.

The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board visited Wrigley on Sept. 9 as part of scoping sessions for the project's environmental assessment. The board wanted to identify and prioritize the issues residents along the possible highway. These issues ranged from environmental, such as the impact on fish and wildlife, to social, such as the impact on crime levels.

The review board also visited Tulita, Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope and Inuvik.

"The community was worried about the drugs and alcohol that presently is in the community, and it would escalate once the highway is open north and it would strain in the Sahtu communities as well," said Pellissey.

Social programs should be looked at, such as health care, elder care and RCMP services, as well as housing programs, said Pellissey, adding the meeting was constructive and a lot of people turned out.

"More studies need to be in place before the community can make a decision regarding the extension of the Mackenzie highway because Wrigley will be directly affected," she said.

Many of the 20 to 25 people who attended the session talked about social issues, said Alan Ehrlich, manager of environmental impact assessment with the board.

"They wanted us to study how the highway would affect social issues, like drugs, alcohol and crime, for example," he said.

"Many people who attended raised concerns about changes to social issues, and leadership did, too."

He added some concerns about how the highway would impact the caribou and moose in the area were also raised, but "the emphasis was definitely on social and economic issues."

The board wanted to know what issues they should study in the environmental assessment, said Ehrlich.

"I would say the community made it very clear what they would like us to focus on," he said. "The community made its views very well known. I'd say it was a very constructive meeting. The community had a lot to say."

The territorial Department of Transportation, as the project's developer, also participated in the scoping sessions, explaining the project to residents.

Concerns related to the highway's potential impact on wildlife, the fisheries and the increased access to alcohol and drugs are some of the concerns Jim Stevens, director of the Mackenzie Valley Highway with the department, said he has heard.

"One important issue is what kind of training will be made available for people in Wrigley so they are able to get employment from the project. That was one of the big issues," he said.

"A second issue was there were a number of concerns about truck traffic coming into the community. So they want to make sure if this road goes forward, we make sure the signing is good so trucks don't come into the community because the roads in the community can't handle large trucks."

The meetings bring forward issues that need to be considered, said Stevens, who also described the meeting as productive.

"The issues that were raised were largely expected by us, and we have to just do a good job to explain how we are going to manage those issues as we go forward," he said. "I think these meetings are constructive in that it's another chance to hear about issues but we also can provide updates to residents."

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