WHATI/LAC LA MARTE
Fortune Minerals Ltd., and the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines are defending the planned road to Whati after Yellowknife Centre MLA Julie Green questioned the government's investment.

In a guest column published last week in News/North, Green questioned if the $150-million project was the right place for the territorial and federal governments to be spending in the North.

"It's time to rethink our investments and choose projects that have better and longer-lasting returns for our people," she wrote. "Given the choice, I will always spend money on people over roads."

Tom Hoefer, executive director of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, and Robin Goad, president of Fortune Minerals Ltd., aren't having it. On Jan. 19 they sent a joint letter to all MLAs addressing their concerns with Green's statement.

"It's a little bit disappointing when the government's already committed to it in their mandate, so they've already wrestled with it, and Julie's been part of that discussion in the legislature. So to come out now and say that she doesn't believe it's the right choice is kind of sour grapes," said Hoefer in an interview with News/North.

The federal government plans to cover 25 per cent of the cost to build the all-season road to Whati, with the territory expected to pick up the rest of the tab. The two-lane gravel roadway span 97 kilometres, branching off Highway 3 between Fort Providence and Behchoko at kilometre marker 197 and requiring four new bridges to be built, as well as the installation of a large arched culvert to cross waterways.

Tlicho Grand Chief Eddie Erasmus said the community will benefit from cheaper food, easier travel and jobs thanks to the road on Jan. 11 when federal, territorial and Tlicho leaders gathered in Whati to announce the plan.

Fortune Minerals Ltd., also stands to benefit. The company plans to mine cobalt, gold bismuth and copper in the area at the NICO mine.

"The road was a critical enabler for our project. Without the road there's basically nothing more we can do," said Goad, adding that the company has already spent $116 million on the project.

"Governments need to invest in basic infrastructure ... One of the critical aspects that's impacting future investment in the northwest territories is something we collectively refer to as the infrastructure deficit, where much higher costs are incurred by the mining industry in the North because of the lack of basic public infrastructure."

He added the high cost of doing business in the North "sterilizes a lot of important discoveries."

Goad describes the joint letter issued on Jan 19 as a "rebuttal" to Julie Green, focused on the community, economic and industrial benefits of the road in bright red type, inserted into her original column.

"Ms. Green's statement that the Tlicho have been, 'sold a bill of goods,' is condescending and implies the Tlicho don't understand the importance of socio-economic connectivity to the public highway system, or the economics of roads, power development, and resources, or the benefits they bring," the letter states.

Chief Alfonz Nitsiza also fired back, with a guest column in this edition of News/North.

"Simply put - investing in the road is investing in our people," he wrote.

NICO isn't the only industrial project that will potentially benefit from the road.

"That whole part of the territories has got some really good mineral potentials, so in the long run it'll help open that up to more development, which we need," said Hoefer.

Describing it as foremost a community road, Goad doesn't see a problem with territorial and federal funding going to a project that will directly benefit individual businesses.

"Much of the existing infrastructure in the NWT was either funded partially or entirely by the mining industry, including the road to Yellowknife, its airport, and most of the power dams and distribution. This provides a critical legacy for public benefit long after the minerals of economic interest have been extracted and is the basis for private-public partnerships," he wrote in the letter he co-authored.

Green doesn't agree.

"Without the mine, the road is just another short-term make work project. The economic lift of road construction will be intense. There will be dozens of jobs available over the four-year construction period," she wrote in her column.

"If Tlicho companies partner with a southern contractor to obtain the P3 contract, Tlicho residents may be the ones who get these jobs. But after construction, only a handful of people will be required to provide ongoing maintenance

"Government is perpetuating the boom and bust economy by building this road, and not investing in sustainability."

She points to the road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk in her column, writing that since the Beaufort Sea closed for exploration, the direct economic benefits of the road are limited to the construction period, which is almost completed.

"The evidence is clear: roads are not an efficient engine of economic growth in and of themselves," she wrote.

Transportation Minister Wally Schumann said he'd like to see work begin next winter, pending environmental approval and the bidding process, with construction over the next four years. Neither Goad nor Hoefer are concerned that Green might have thrown a wrench in that timeline.

"We believe that Julie Green has little or no support in the legislative assembly," said Goad.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.