Yale Environment 360 - As Canadian River Shrivels, Northern Communities Call for a Highway
“The big issue for people living up here is what is next year — and the years after that — going to bring as the climate continues to warm and dry out the river?”
A prefabricated house delivered by barge to the Sahtu village of Tulita in 2022. Recent deliveries have been cancelled because of low water levels on the Mackenzie River. SAHTU SECRETARIAT INCORPORATED
This recent article from Yale Environment 360 reports on the challenges faced by northern communities in Canada's Northwest Territories as the Mackenzie River experiences unprecedented low water levels. With the river too shallow for barge traffic, essential supplies like food and fuel are being flown into remote villages at high costs. This has prompted renewed calls for the construction of the Mackenzie Valley Highway, a $1 billion project that could provide a critical lifeline for these communities.
The proposed road, stretching 200 miles, would connect the Sahtu region to the south, offering a more reliable means of transporting goods as climate change continues to reduce river flows. However, the project faces significant hurdles in a warming Arctic, with rising maintenance costs for existing northern roads due to thawing permafrost and other climate-related challenges.
Proponents of the road, including local Indigenous leaders, argue that it’s crucial for economic resilience and long-term sustainability. They highlight the need for a shift from past practices, where the North was exploited for resources without adequate infrastructure investment for the communities that live there. At the same time, conservation groups remain cautiously neutral, recognizing that the highway doesn’t threaten critical wildlife corridors, and maintaining strong partnerships with local Indigenous populations is essential.
This story underscores the far-reaching impacts of climate change on water resources and infrastructure, a concern shared across Canada. Ongoing efforts like the Canada1Water (C1W) project are vital to understanding and managing these changes, helping policymakers navigate the complex challenges of maintaining infrastructure and water security in a rapidly changing climate
Click here to read the article at Yale Environment 360
“For a very long time, the North has been viewed as a source of resources — beaver, furs, timber, metals, oil and gas — all to be developed by southern companies, financed by southern banks, for the benefit of distant southern markets. In exchange for this, the North got dispossessed of our lands and resources, our families torn apart [by the residential school program], our culture and language discredited, and our children abused. Not exactly a fair exchange, was it? How about we try something different for a change?”