Warm weather devastating to communities that rely on winter roads

Supplies are still sitting in the woods in a remote area of Ontario’s Far North, the result of an unusually warm March and its impact on the winter ice roads.

On April 1 Nishnawbe Aski Nation leadership declared a state of emergency because the early closure of the winter roads left communities without essential supplies, including building materials and fuel.

When the road system is unavailable, the 29 remote First Nations communities in NAN territory are forced to fly in supplies, which costs about three times more than ground transportation. But not all materials can be flown; products like building modules, pre-fabrication materials and holding tanks cannot be put on a plane.

"Last year with the sudden thaw, we had some of our modules stuck in the bush and a lot of them were at the end of our winter roads waiting to be transported but we were not able to mobilize them," said NAN Grand Chief Stan Beardy. "We pray for cold weather so we can move them the following winter, but that leaves a community without an essential facility…they just have to do without."

The roads are usually open from January to early April with construction of the roads beginning in November with funds from both the federal and provincial government. This year the province is investing $4.5 million into the winter road system, which Beardy said is on par with the last few years.

The threat of an early thaw looms again this year and Beardy said there isn’t much to be done about it.

"It is global warming and climate change that has this effect," he said. "Recently we’ve noticed that even though it might be cold it’s still not the type of ice we used to have in the past. We have very soft ice these years. Also, what happens these past years is the first warm spell, all the snow will just evaporate."

The winter road system is crucial to the remote communities because it’s their link to the outside world, said Beardy, adding it’s not only the communities that save money using the roads, but individual members of the First Nations.

"They do all their personal shopping on the winter roads," he said. "I believe the majority of members save their money for the whole year so they can do their shopping on the winter roads because it’s a lot cheaper."