‘It means happiness,’ Sahtu looks to highway for economic future

The Mackenzie Valley Highway is about more than travelling from community to community. For people in the Sahtu, the road brings economic potential and opportunity.

Those opportunities were a major focus at the Sahtu Readiness Conference in Norman Wells last week, where community members, Indigenous governments, businesses and government officials gathered to discuss how the region can prepare for the long-awaited highway.

Naokah Bailes, who grew up in the region and now works as the land-based programs director at Black Spruce Education, said the highway could make it easier to build in the Sahtu.

“It would open up a lot more opportunities for us to grow in the North and be more connected throughout all the communities,” Bailes told Cabin Radio.

Her organization is working toward an education centre, but getting materials to the region means working around short winter-road and barge seasons and paying transportation costs.

McCoy Enterprises has operated in Norman Wells for 25 years. In a written statement to Cabin Radio, the company said the highway could have a “massive” impact on the community.

The company said the winter-road season has dropped from about 12 weeks to roughly eight weeks, while low water levels have also shortened the barge season.

McCoy Enterprises also said the current winter road is considered an “off-road” route by some insurance and health-care providers, creating additional costs and risks for businesses travelling with employees and freight. It called a permanent highway a “game changer.”

As the largest community in the Sahtu, Norman Wells acts as a hub for people, businesses and services. A permanent road could make it easier to move goods, workers and services between communities and would connect the region with the rest of the NWT.

That could become particularly important as Norman Wells adjusts to the winding down of Imperial Oil’s operations.

Joshua Earls, president of the Norman Wells and District Chamber of Commerce and a local business owner, said the change creates uncertainty but also an opportunity to diversify the local economy.

“Imperial Oil, which has kind of been the biggest company driving our economy for sure in Norman Wells, and probably the Sahtu, is actually stopping production,” Earls said.

“But with that, of course, I guess comes opportunity, and we’ve just now been announced with this Mackenzie Valley Highway.”

Earls said the highway would fundamentally change Norman Wells’ relationship with the rest of Canada.

“But now we’ll actually be connected to all of Canada, be able to drive in and out of Norman Wells and the Sahtu, and so it should create huge opportunity here.”

Mike Beaulieu, the North West Company’s vice president of Canadian Store Operation, said they also see economic benefits.

“The highway has the potential to strengthen our supply chain by improving year-round transportation options, increasing reliability, and reducing many of the risks associated with serving remote communities,” Beaulieu told Cabin Radio in a written statement.

He said the highway would not eliminate the higher costs of operating in the North, but could improve efficiency, support economic growth and create opportunities to make essential goods more affordable and accessible.

For Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely, the hope is that the highway will change everyday life for people across the region – not just the local economy.

“It means happiness,” McNeely told Cabin Radio when asked what the highway means for the future of the Sahtu. “In one word, it means happiness and prosperity.”

He said a permanent road could give residents more freedom to travel south for groceries and supplies, rather than relying on expensive flights or waiting for seasonal transportation.

McNeely also sees a recreational side to the highway.

“You can take your grandkids out to your cabin and go berry picking,” he said.

The road could make it easier for families to visit one another between communities, with McNeely pointing to the possibility of travelling from Norman Wells to Tulita to visit family and friends, or bringing a boat to Bear River for an excursion to Great Bear Lake.

“There’s many things that this road will do, not only for the residents of the territories,” McNeely said.

“We’re going to see incoming tourists and we’re going to see incoming industry.”

For Bailes, the Mackenzie Valley Highway’s impact is also generational, especially for her son.

“He’ll just have access to this highway in his life, like something that I didn’t have access to,” Bailes said.