Brokenhead members decry longtime dangers of Highway 59

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This article was published 24/04/2023 (894 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Loved ones of a man killed in a hit-and-run on Highway 59 in Brokenhead Ojibway Nation were joined Monday by family of others injured and killed on the same road to share their grief and call for change.

Lana Starr sobbed as she remembered her uncle, Larry Hodge, 75, who died April 20 when a vehicle struck him from behind while walking north on the right shoulder.

“He loved us kids so much… my uncle didn’t deserve this,” she said at a news conference in Winnipeg.

“My uncle didn’t deserve to be left out there. Something needs to be done for our people. This time it was him, but next time it could be one of our children. It’s not OK.”

Other Brokenhead community members shared stories of suffering permanent injuries after accidents on the highway at the south end of Lake Winnipeg, and losing family members on the same stretch of road.

“I was young at the time, but I wish I would have seen something done with my mother,” said Erica Straight-Bear, whose mother was killed on Hwy. 59 in 2007.

“This has gone on 15 years of her being passed, almost 16 years… and this is a call from the youth of Brokenhead that something has to be done. I don’t want to see my children cross that highway and nothing be done.”

Brokenhead leadership said the stretch of road has been a danger to the community for decades, as high speed limits and low lighting have resulted in multiple fatalities and the province has ignored years of calls to put safety measures in place.

Chief Gord Bluesky and other local leaders have created a council resolution that outlines specific issues and calls on the government to reduce the speed limit of Highway 59 to 50 km/h (from 80 km/h) for the two km-stretch through Brokenhead, some 65 km northeast of Winnipeg.

It also calls on the government to install safety crossings for pedestrians, appropriate shoulder space and illumination through the same stretch.

“Our community is still grieving our most recent loss, but I think we have a perpetual grievance, without anything being done with our requests,” Bluesky said.

He said the Rural Municipality of St. Clements council will be bringing forward a similar motion.

Brokenhead councillor Remi Olson, who said his grandfather was the first person to die on the highway after being hit by a drunk driver while it was being developed 60 years ago, said local council feels it must take matters into its own hands after a lack of past response from higher levels.

“We’re just going to move forward, we’re going take our own actions for the safety of our community and other people through Manitoba coming through our community,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean that we’re letting the provincial or federal government off the hook, they still have to be accountable for everything that took place in our community.”

A Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure spokesperson said in an April 21 email temporary speed-reduction signs were put in the area recently, and the province is looking at other options to improve safety.

The issue came up in Monday’s question period, where NDP MLA Ian Bushie (Keewatinook) said those signs were actually just speed-notification signs, and called on Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk to commit to Brokenhead’s requests.

“We know the backlog for speed zone variance requests in Manitoba is much too high. That means that communities like Brokenhead Ojibway Nation are having to wait far too long for action,” Bushie said.

“It’s clear the situation is urgent… thoughts and prayers from this government will not get results. The community is demanding that these safety concerns be addressed now.”

Piwniuk said the province would present solutions to Brokenhead leadership in upcoming weeks.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca