Perspectives on the Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts of All-season Roads in Two Remote First Nation Communities in Northern Ontario

Abstract

Remote Indigenous communities face a number of challenges associated with accessibility. The development of all-season road corridors promises to solve some of these problems. However, changes to transportation can create many challenges. Surveys and interviews conducted in two remote First Nations communities and reported in this thesis reveal that community members are aware that both potential harms and benefits from all-season roads will alter the communities’ social wellbeing. Concerns about negative potential impacts from all-season roads are triggered by past experiences and history. Fear may slow down progress of development in the Far North. These fears are associated with changes in the community and its surrounding landscape including accessibility to drugs and alcohol, destruction of the land and disrespect from non-Indigenous people. While First Nation participants acknowledge that all-season roads and increased access can produce or worsen negative impacts, they perceive the positive outcomes, such as employment and community-to-community interaction, to be worth the risks associated with all-season roads.