The twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway from the Manitoba border to Kenora is a step closer to becoming a reality.

The Niiwin Wendaanimok Partnership, which consists of leadership from Wauzhushk Onigum First Nation, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation, and Washagamis Bay First Nation, is prepared to give the province of Ontario conditional consent to enter their territory under their guidance to begin the first phase of construction.

This consent is given on the condition that Ontario honour the legally binding commitments it has made to the Niiwin Wendaanimok Partnership.

Cabinet Ministers have been invited to participate in a sacred ceremony in late April guided by Manito Aki Inaakonigaawin, the sacred law of the Earth. At the ceremony, Ontario to receive the Harmonized Impact Assessment so it may proceed with filing its environmental study.

“Our government has worked in lockstep with the Niiwin Wendaanimok partnership to create an open and transparent dialogue with the communities to move this critical infrastructure project forward. Today is an important day for our region and I look forward to shovels in the ground this upcoming construction season,” said MPP Rickford.

The first phase of the project is to twin the highway from the Manitoba/Ontario border to Highway 673, with construction expected to start this fall.

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Written by Jordan Rivers