Feds May Back Away From Roads Commitment

Feds May Back Away From Roads Commitment

Friday, December 10, 2004 at 14:54

Athabasca leaders say it appears the push to establish an all-weather road network in the Far North is about to suffer a significant setback.

The Athabasca Economic Development and Training Corporation is reporting that Indian Affairs indicated in a recent meeting that it’s about to pull an offer to fund one-third of the project’s cost.

The proposed all-weather roads in the Athabasca region are expected to cost $42 million to build.

Indian Affairs has had its offer to pay 33 per cent of the cost on the table for the last few years, but has been unable to get the provincial government to commit what it feels is the province’s share of the funding.

Athabasca leaders say they were told the province’s position was the primary reason why the federal department’s offer is about to get pulled.

Department officials were not immediately available for comment.