SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Motorists driving through Wood Buffalo National Park should eventually find the ride a little smoother after the federal government announced $21.6 million in funding to chip seal 64 kilomteres of Hwy 5 through the park which straddles the NWT/Alberta border.

Federal environment and climate change minister Catherine McKenna, who is also responsible for Parks Canada, announced almost $24 million in funding for parks improvements in the NWT On McKenna's left is NWT MP Michael McLeod. - John McFadden/NNSL photo

The funding announcement was made July 12 in Yellowknife by federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna who is also the minister responsible for Parks Canada. She was joined by NWT MP Michael McLeod and Wally Schumann, the NWT transportation minister.

The chip seal will replace the current gravel road between kilometre 106 and kilometre 174 on the NWT side of the park. It will result in an improved level of service for this essential regional transportation corridor, providing ease of access to the park and the community of Fort Smith, stated a Government of Canada news release.

Wood Buffalo is the only national park in the NWT that is accessible by road.

McKenna said that her government is committed to preserving national park and contributing the the recovery of species at risk.

"You could spend a whole life wandering Wood Buffalo National Park, North America's largest protected area, and see things you've only read about," McKenna said. "Everything from whooping cranes to one of the last free-roaming bison herds in the world. Add to that a rich indigenous heritage and the hospitality of its residents and you have just about the perfect destination."

McKenna also announced several other projects including $920,000 in federal funding to rehabilitate the Salt River Bridge on Hwy 59, also known as the Peace Point Road, in Wood Buffalo National Park.

The feds will also spend $487,000 to upgrade the trail network in the park.

Jonah Mitchell, field unit superintendent for Parks Canada in the southern NWT, said that the work on the roads in the park should be done in two years. He added that indigenous groups have been consulted on the projects.

"The Salt River Bridge rehabilitation is immediately adjacent to two reserves. There's indigenous sucker harvesting ithat happens there so We've timed the construction so that it happens outside the fish spawn in the spring and before the majority of the hunting season in that area," Mitchell said.

The Liberals will spend $690,000 for a state-of-the-art satellite communications system that will cover some 100,000 square kilometres of land including parks and sites in the Western Arctic. The feds will also fund $115,000 for a boardwalk at the Pingo Canadian Landmark near Tuktouaktuk. The area has eight pingos, ice-cored hills that range in height from less than 5 metres to 49 metres.

McKenna pointed out that admission to all of Canada's national parks will be free next year in honour of the country's 150th anniversary.

The day before the Wood Buffalo announcement, McKenna adressed the issue of climate change at a joint news conference at the legislative assembly, along with the three territorial environment minister's including Schumann. She said the federal government wants to have coast-to-coast-to-coast carbon pricing policy but added she understands the last thing Northerners want is another tax. A carbon tax is generally defined as a tax based on greenhouse gas emissions generated from burning fuels. It puts a price on each tonne emitted.

"The situation in the territories is different from the rest of the country," she said. "There has been no decision on what carbon pricing would look like."

McKenna's whirlwind tour of the NWT also included a town hall meeting on climate change at Sombe K's Civic Plaza in Yellowknife.

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