Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Jun 19/98) - One Inuvik elder says a permanent road to Tuktoyaktuk will not only offer the region more jobs but will strengthen family bonds as well.

"We'll see more people down this way if the road goes to Tuk, too," Catherine Mitchell said before stressing how the highway will create jobs and help reduce the price of groceries.

"It's always dangerous the first few weeks when we start travelling on the ice. I go with Gloria (Anderson) and I see how the road is. We really have to watch how we travel on it with the cracks and everything."

Two Tsiigehtchic elders visiting Inuvik last week agree the area needs a highway but not only to Tuk, all the way down the Mackenzie Valley.

"It'd be better for the people," said 59-year-old Joe Norbert.

"It's got to be built for safety because nobody likes accidents."

Walking beside Norbert as the two passed two Northwest Transport 18-wheelers on Mackenzie Road, Thomas Kendo, 56, said a highway is a good idea for the future for the supply of goods.

It is this kind of input from elders which has previously been missing from the study into the new highway, according to Inuvik Mayor George Roach.

"The only thing we did get that I thought was significant at the (June 10 public) meeting was the response from some of the elders," he said.

"They spoke positively and in favor of the highway and how much they would like to be able to use it to go and visit friends down river. That was the only new thing that came up."

Roach encouraged GNWT officials to be "men of vision," who would consider human aspects of the road instead of simply sitting in Yellowknife crunching numbers.

"How do you quantify things like the despair and welfare and suicide of our young people," Roach said.

"They don't have jobs and this would provide some long-term training jobs in operation and maintenance of heavy equipment. Those kinds of things are difficult to put a value on."

A road could also help tourism as people could set up lodges, the mayor said.

Ron Williams, deputy minister of Transportation said officials would meet this week to discuss the feedback they received from people in the Beaufort Delta region.

"We got some good feedback," he said. "If anything we were impressed by the willingness of all the groups and parties of that area to work together to try to make it happen."

Williams said the road committee is examining different government budgets to try to find funding for the road but no private sector involvement has been secured so far.