The phrase "Roads to Resources" was coined by some clever writer on Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's team back in the 1950s and it still reflects the most pressing investment need if the North is to ever develop a sustainable economy.

Diefenbaker's vision provided the impetus for most of the highways we enjoy today. The roads and our only railroad were built to join the mining regions of the North to their markets, suppliers and workers in southern Canada. Diefenbaker also spoke about the profound effect new developments could have on education and the development of self government in the North.

Whether we like it or not, governments build roads to exploit resources and open up new producers of wealth, primarily to foster economic development and secure new revenues to government through taxes and royalties.

Northerners need to talk, not to Ottawa, but among ourselves. Along with our sister territories, we need to develop a clear and integrated proposal for Northern transportation investment that focuses on real economic opportunities. We need to develop a plan that we can sell to the feds as something that benefits the entire country as well as all regions of the North.

Maybe if Northerners got together and developed a unified vision we wouldn't have the Sahtu region proposing that a national park be developed where the world's largest deposits of tungsten and zinc have been found. We wouldn't have the draft Sahtu land use plan cutting off most of the region from development with protected areas and special management zones. We wouldn't have the Environmental Review Board subjecting a minor diamond drill program in the Sahtu to a full environmental assessment, in spite of the approval of the low-impact program by the Sahtu Land and Water Board. We wouldn't have the NWT's department of industry, tourism and investment proposing to turn the only proven road and pipeline pass through the Mackenzie Mountains into a park for a few hikers.

Sahtu is not alone. The Dehcho has just signed away the expanded Nahanni Park to the feds, an area about two-thirds the size of Nova Scotia.

In return Parks has announced that it will spend $5 million for picnic benches over the next while and $1 million a year on operations thereafter. We can hope the fabulous riches brought by a few canoeists will make up for the future mineral wealth and outfitting opportunities they have given away forever.

Akaitcho is also proposing to give away an area even larger than the Nahanni to federal bureaucrats, the east arm park. Not only will it mean no development within the park, an area of known mineral potential, it will shut off development in the whole region east of Great Slave Lake. Remember, parks are forever. Once you give your land to Parks Canada you have about as much control over it as you have over events in Switzerland. Ask your friends in Fort Smith or Paulatuk.

This is all happening at a time when our true wealth is yet to be discovered. Diamonds already provide about half of our economy and many well paid full-time jobs. Aboriginal people, long left behind by new developments, are now key contributors to and beneficiaries of the diamond mines. Mines don't last forever and we need to find and develop new mines if we are to sustain our standard of living. When we consider that in 2008 alone, exploration business in NWT spent $133 million, we sold the Nahanni pretty cheap. Even this year in the midst of the biggest downturn anyone can remember, exploration expenditures are forecast to be $28 million, contrasted to Nunavut at $168 million.

We'll now never know how many mines in the Nahanni we sold to Parks Canada for the sake of a few canoeists, southern environmentalists and a few votes in Quebec.

Maybe if we had someone with Diefenbaker's vision and a territorial government not totally consumed with internal bickering, we'd have some chance of developing our land, our people and our businesses so that they can be successful and contribute to our communities and provide the services and facilities we want.

If we don't get this right soon we'll protect our children out of ever enjoying the benefits that the mineral wealth of our land can provide.