Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 17/02) - The lobby for more federal highway dollars is cementing Yellowknife's position as the departure point for the resupply of the barrenland mines, says Leon Lafferty.

Reconstruction of a 2.3-kilometre stretch of the Ingraham Trail near Giant mine began this week (above). North Slave MLA Leon Lafferty, left, says Minister Joe Handley is showing favouritism by upgrading the Ingraham Trail -- a road that runs through Handley's riding. - Richard Gleeson/NNSL photo

The North Slave MLA said he is considering calling for Transportation Minister Joe Handley's resignation for favouring his riding over the Dogrib region.

"Right now what I think he's doing is starting his re-election campaign," Lafferty said.

Handley's Weledeh riding includes the Ingraham Trail. Handley said last month the department is proposing to chipseal the highway all the way to Tibbitt Lake and straighten out some of the sharper curves in addition to reconstruction at the Yellowknife end that began this week.

Lafferty said the government is spending far too much on the Ingraham Trail and not nearly enough to develop all-weather roads to the three Dogrib communities accessible only by winter road.

The proposed improvements depend on the government getting funding from a federal infrastructure program.

Handley said the federal program provides money for improving existing roads but not for building new ones. He said the territorial government has no money to develop new roads.

"We don't even have the money to maintain our existing infrastructure right now," he said.

Preliminary studies on all-weather road routes to the mines sparked competition between Yellowknife and Rae to be the departure point for such a road.

Lafferty and Dogrib chiefs lobbied to have it head north from Rae and swing through three Dogrib communities before heading east to Lac de Gras. Lafferty said such a route would bring social as well as economic benefits to the Dogrib communities and, if paired with a hydro transmission line, cleaner energy to the mines.

He challenged Handley's contention that the road does not qualify for federal funding. Lafferty said the government is proposing work for the Tuktoyaktuk and Sahtu ice roads.

Handley, who is also the minister of finance, said there is no basis for spending the hundreds of millions it would take to build a new winter road or an all-weather road to the mines because the mining companies are satisfied with the current arrangement.

"In the next four or five or 10 years you might see an extension beyond Tibbitt to get further north, but certainly not a completed (all weather) road," Handley said.

Lafferty said Premier Stephen Kakfwi has yet to follow through on a December 2000 commitment to discuss routing of an all-weather road to the barrens.