The Town of Lynn Lake is spearheading the development of an organization to push for an all-weather road in northwestern Manitoba, from Highway 10 through Pukatawagan and then on to Brochet, Lac Brochet and Tadoule Lake via Lynn Lake.
Lynn Lake council passed a resolution to establish an ad hoc committee known as the Northwest Manitoba Route Association at its March 10 meeting and appointed three members – Lynn Lake Mayor James Lindsay, Tyler Hunt of the Northwest Manitoba Community Futures Development Corporation and Judy Sinclair of the Lynn Lake Friendship Centre – from a list of four interested candidates that also included Eugene Shin of the Lynn Inn at the subsequent meeting March 24.
“[T]he sole function of this Committee shall be to forward and advance discussions directly related to the development of year-round road access to the communities of Sayisis Dene First Nation at Tadoule Lake, Northlands Dene First Nation at Lac Brochet, Barren Lands First Nation in Brochet and Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in Pukatawagan from Manitoba Provincial Trunk Highway #10 North to Pukatawagan through the Town of Lynn Lake and onwards to Brochet, Lac Brochet and Tadoule Lake,” read the Lynn Lake council’s resolution.
Lindsay sent a letter on behalf of council March 11 to Sayisi Dene First Nation at Tadoule Lake, Northlands Dene First Nation at Lac Brochet, Barren Lands First Nation at Lac Brochet and Mathias Colomb Cree Nation at Pukatawagan inviting representatives of those communities to sit on the committee.
“We can accomplish a great deal more working together than we can working independent of each other,” wrote Lindsay. “The Town of Lynn Lake has long been a proponent of such a transportation route, and we believe advancing the discussions of creating such a link would be advantageous to every community with the Northwest Region, well beyond the simple access benefits it brings to the four communities in the region that do not presently have the benefit of year-round road access.”
“We are still awaiting formal selection of representatives from the other four community councils at this time, and eager to arrange our first meeting, so that we may formally begin the process of seeking the support of additional local governments and other interested parties (business, industry, organizations, and individuals) from throughout the northwest Manitoba region,” wrote Lindsay in a March 29 email to the Nickel Belt News.
