For Immediate Release
26 January, 2023
Lela Evans MHA for Torngat Mountains is pleased that government has finally awarded the contract for the pre-feasibility study on the construction of a road connecting the Trans-Labrador Highway to the communities in her district in northern Labrador.
“I am pleased to see the pre-feasibility study finally awarded, instead of just another re-announcement of the same funding allocation without action. Since 2019 I have been calling for this to happen because my district suffers to a lack of transportation services when compared to the rest of the province. This particular government kept promising there would be a study for three budgets in a row.
“It’s about time. To me it’s about fairness. The lack of a Trans-Labrador Highway connection prevents my people from traveling when they need to. They get stuck with long weather delays and often can’t book a flight even when the weather is good because there aren’t any flights available.
“Government claims they have spent a billion dollars on the highway in Labrador, but not a single dollar has been spent in connecting my district yet we suffer the greatest gaps in transportation.
“The poor transportation services have impacted the cost of living dramatically. People cannot afford to fuel their snowmobiles and boats to travel. It is also impacting their ability to fish and hunt, which means they can’t offset the high price of food. They cannot heat their homes because the cost of heating oil has gone from $250 to $500 a barrel. They cannot afford to travel to cut wood to heat their homes.
Evans also points to the provincial government‘s removal of the freight boat in 2018 as having a deleterious impact on access to goods and services.
“The freight boat should never have been removed from service until there was a road built. Residents of Torngat Mountains have been waiting for this road. The north coast needs to join the rest of the province in terms of access to goods and services.
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For further information, contact Eddy St. Coeur, Director of Communications, NDP Caucus at 729-2137 (o), or eddystcoeur@gov.nl.ca