Grassy and MNR debate road repair

The Ministry of Natural Resources has agreed to repair a bridge in Grassy Narrows at no cost to the First Nation.
Minister Linda Jeffrey made the offer during a meeting with community leaders June 1.
The bridge repairs had been a major source of contention in the community after it had hired its own contractors to perform the work earlier in the week.
Greg MacNeil, a spokesman for the ministry, said it was a “public safety issue” and the ministry wanted to be sure the repairs were carried out to “appropriate engineering standards.”
MacNeil said the repairs will be completed as soon as possible.
This was an about-face from the ministry’s previous stance on the issue. The community had been asking for the ministry to get involved in the repair for more than two years, according to a community spokesman.
The community claims the ministry threatened its contract with $10,000 fines for working without proper permits.
In an effort to get the repairs done by the community’s contractor, three women from Grassy Narrows spent May 31 and June 1 blocking MNR staff from accessing Segeisse Road at Highway 671 in the community’s traditional territory.
The women – Judy Da Silva, Chrissy Swain and Adrienne Swain – blocked the MNR from accessing the area so repairs – sanctioned and approved by chief and council – can continue uninterrupted, Da Silva said in a phone interview from the site.
“If they (the MNR) try and stop the work, we are going to tell them they can’t pass,” Da Silva said.
The road serves two purposes, Da Silva said.
It is the only emergency access that provides an alternate road out of Grassy Narrows in the case of forest fire or other emergencies. It also provides access to the traditional territory for hunters, campers and berry pickers.
“The road and the bridge gives us access to the forest and things that sustain us,” Da Silva said. “It is very important to us to have the bridge repaired. These roads haven’t been maintained since the logging companies pulled out.”
They had been maintained by the companies that used them but that is no longer the case, she said.
Last fall, a group of women performed a similar blockade when another road was being repaired.