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The NWT government has formalized its request that an ongoing environmental assessment of the proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway be expanded to cover the full Wrigley-Inuvik route.
For years, the GNWT had operated on the basis it would build the road from Wrigley to Norman Wells first, then consider a second stage between Norman Wells and the Dempster Highway later.
The massive shift in federal interest over the past year, culminating in the highway being referred to the Major Projects Office, has transformed that thinking. The NWT’s premier has talked of having the whole thing built in the next five years.
Cabin Radio reported in June that the move to a single environmental assessment was being considered. At the time, regulator the Mackenzie Valley Review Board said it was open to the idea, noting the assessment already in progress had once considered the full route before the GNWT asked for its scope to be narrowed.
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Earlier this month, GNWT representatives confirmed they would seek to expand the current assessment.
The territory formalized that in a letter to the review board late last week. The request isn’t automatically approved – the review board must consider it and reach a decision.
In a news release on Monday, NWT major projects minister Caroline Wawzonek said a single assessment would “reduce duplication, provide greater certainty and allow planning, engagement and technical work to move forward in a more integrated and timely way.”
The GNWT said it envisaged that “the detailed work already completed for the Wrigley-to-Norman Wells section would be maintained, while the northern corridor would initially be assessed at a broader level. Technical studies, Indigenous Knowledge, community engagement and work to identify and address information gaps would continue as the assessment advances.”
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A single assessment has the support of the region’s MLA.
Danny McNeely, the Sahtu MLA, had previously expressed concern that two assessments for the different sections of the route could add up to four years to the timeline for the highway’s construction.
In a letter to the review board, he said a single assessment would add only a “short additional period to the current environmental assessment timeline, while significantly reducing long-term regulatory and schedule risks.”
The Mackenzie Valley Highway remains without the funding to be fully constructed, which must come from the federal government, private sector or both, as the territory cannot afford the billions of dollars involved.
