After years of having unreliable infrastructure to get to and from their community, the people of Hatchet Lake Denesuline Nation and Wollaston Lake will see the completion of an all-season road by the end of next fall.

Hatchet Lake Denesuline Nation Chief Bart Tsannie says construction of the road has been ongoing for years. Fourteen kilometres were completed in 2008, but work was stalled in 2012, leaving the communities without a reliable way to access goods, receive healthcare, or attract investment.

Tsannie says residents currently depend on a ferry in the summer and an ice road in the winter, both of which have become increasingly unreliable due to climate change.

“In the wintertime we hardly have any snow. The weather is not even very cold to build thick ice. The water level is low, too. We’re down like four feet of water. Normally, we’re down. It is a challenge,” he explains.

“When we use winter ice roads, there are only maybe a month and a half or two months that they’re open. The weather’s not good, and it’s not very cold.”

He says in the summer, ferry rides are three hours long each way.

Tsannie adds that the project is able to be completed thanks to a recent $49 million investment from the federal government. This will ensure that the communities can prosper economically, emergency vehicles can reach the area, and groceries can be shipped in more than once a week.

“Once we get this road, there will be some opportunities in economic development. Living in the north, in remote, is very costly. Very costly. So, things are not cheap without a road. Maybe it makes it a little different when we get this road here.”