After years of promises, talking and negotiating, it appears the twinning of Highway 17 west of Kenora may finally proceed.
Northern Development Minister Greg Rickford says he’s encouraged with a decision by four area First Nations last week in support of the first phase of the project.
Rickford says this development is a long time coming, stressing the work is no longer an issue, it’s an opportunity.
“We put a hundred million dollars on the table over a decade ago and the previous Liberal government took the money and moved it to another portion of twinning the highway in northern Ontario and essentially blamed it on Indigenous engagement.”
Rickford adds, “We’ve been able to do in just a couple of years what the previous government attempted to do over the course of a decade. Failed and took the money somewhere else. The Indigenous communities we engaged. We’ve got a lot more work than just the twinning available.”
The Kenora-Rainy River MPP notes, “They’ll be involved in it. Right now, provincial money is on the table to Rush Bay. We hope to put that to Kenora and frankly beyond. I believe the entire highway should be twinned somewhere down the road. But we’re very pleased with real progress.”
Rickford hopes to see shovels in the ground in the “not too distant future.”
He credits Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney for her work in advancing the project.
