by Daniel McNeely, MLA for the Sahtu region
In response to 'Road to Ruin' (News/North SA国际影视传媒� July 9).
Long before the concept of a road into the Slave Geological Province and long before the idea of the Whati Road, was the Great Slave to Great Bear Road. This road was part of the original Roads to Resources Program that was initiated by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker back in the 1950SA国际影视传媒檚.
The Roads to Resources Program was promoted as part of a national road system and was intended to facilitate easier access to resources and encourage development.
The Great Slave to Great Bear Road never happened, why, because the Mackenzie Valley Highway (MVH) happened, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 why. It made much better sense for a number of reasons to have the alignment of a north-south road be slightly moved to the west, that way it could connect a number of communities while also doing what it was intended to do in promoting resource development.
The MVH will connect communities in the Dehcho, Sahtu, GwichSA国际影视传媒檌n and Beaufort Delta regionSA国际影视传媒檚 and will stretch from Alberta and BC all the way to the arctic coast. It will be a significant contributor to the Canadian National Highway System
The economics of the MVH should go without saying but seeing how some suggest that itSA国际影视传媒檚 the road to ruin and lacks an economic case let me outline just a couple economic benefits.
The MVH will reduce the cost of transporting goods to all communities along the Mackenzie Valley. With lower prices on goods and supplies people will have money left over after buying the same amount of goods they bought before the MVH. So now they will be able to buy more goods and services without having to make more money and therefore their standards of living and quality of life will increase.
This additional disposable income, essentially, will be equal to the savings in freight rates. Currently, about 6000 commercial transport trucks travel up the Dempster Highway each year, bringing goods into the NWT. The MVH would save about $3500 a year per transport load, or about $21 million a year in total. The reduced cost of shipping goods north would result in lower prices for residents. In other words, the MVH will put about $21 million more dollars in peopleSA国际影视传媒檚 pockets each year and that will have positive benefits on the rest of the NWT economy.
The spinoff of people being able to purchase more goods with the same amount of money as before the MVH would generate millions more in GDP, create numerous permanent jobs and increase government revenues potentially in the millions. This increase in spending would occur annually and therefore would boost the economy year after year.
ItSA国际影视传媒檚 been suggested that the MVH would increase tourism in the respective regions by 20 percent or 3,500 new tourists each year. Not big numbers compared to Yellowknife, but based on an average spending per person of $1,100 we would see an increase in tourist spending of nearly $4 million a year.
You can break this number down further but essentially this translates again into more buying and selling in the NWT each year, more permanent jobs and more government revenues each year.
With the MVH in place, ITI and NWT Tourism could market a stunning loop up through the NWT and back down the Dempster Highway through the Yukon. This would also increase tourism numbers and result in longer stays in the communities located on that loop. One could imagine more campgrounds, B&BSA国际影视传媒檚, cultural arts and crafts shops, river and trail tours. The economic opportunities would be endless!
Notice, I didnSA国际影视传媒檛 make a case for the direct and long term benefits of the actual construction and maintenance of the MVH and I didnSA国际影视传媒檛 even mention resource development figures. Collectively those aspects would run in the billions of dollars as it relates to economic benefits for the NWT.
I want people to understand that while the origin of this road was to promote access to resource development it is now much more than that. Cece McCauley put her lifeSA国际影视传媒檚 work into promoting and fighting for this road because she knew it was bigger than just a road to resources. Cece knew this highway was about connecting people and communities, about connecting the Sahtu to the rest of the territory and about connecting the territory to the rest of Canada.
As the MLA for the Sahtu region I will honour CeceSA国际影视传媒檚 vision by continuing to make the case for the MVH and the many benefits it will deliver for all the people of the NWT and Canada.
