East Side Road has had a positive impact

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/09/2016 (3343 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Recently Dan Lett wrote that it would be a mistake if construction on the East Side Road didn’t resume (East Side Road worth it despite setbacks, Sept. 6).

I agree. The East Side Road Authority’s (ESRA) record of accomplishments in the initial stages of this project is an impressive one and I am proud to have been part of it.

Using a combination of traditional tendering and community benefits agreements, ESRA has accomplished much since its creation in 2009. Because of this, the system of winter roads to remote communities has been greatly improved and it’s had a positive effect on the economy and the lives of those living in these communities.

The Bloodvein First Nation became the first remote community to achieve all-season access in decades when the ESRA connected it in 2014, and 50 kilometres of all-weather road has been built on the way to Berens River, which until recently was scheduled to be connected in 2019/20.

In the initial phase of this 30-year project, four new permanent bridges and five new Acrow bridges have been strategically installed improving the existing winter road system. As well, almost nine per cent of right of way clearing in preparation for road construction and 20 per cent of the exploratory clearing needed to complete the design and environmental approval requirements have been completed using construction companies owned by the local First Nations employing local indigenous people.

To accomplish local involvement, Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) were created for the first time by Manitoba to include local communities and workers in the economic benefits and build the capacity at the local level needed to undertake the work. The ESRA has facilitated the creation of 13 First Nation owned and operated companies to do clearing and to produce the material used to construct the road. Appropriate accountability provisions are in place including joint signing authority on bank accounts, and most importantly, significant effort and resources have been invested in training local workers and mentoring local management teams.

Since 2009, more than 1,000 construction jobs have been created and over 325 local residents have been trained. As of March 31, 2015, Manitoba has invested about $95 million in CBAs. While there is certainly more work to be done and many challenges remain, significant progress has been made not only in building the road, but also building the local capacity to participate in the economic benefits. To abandon the project after investing so much and accomplishing so much would indeed be unfortunate.

Any environmental management discussion, including comments attributed to the Manitoba Métis Federation about provincial refusal to consult, should include some historical facts. ESRA has delivered the highest level of professionalism in the management of its environmental responsibilities. It sought and received all of the approvals needed to proceed with the above work and it has provided band council resolutions from every First Nations involved supporting the work to date. To protect the woodland caribou, ESRA has used some of the most up-to-date technology for collaring and satellite tracking the caribou patterns and those of their predators. Arguably, ESRA has better data regarding the travels of both the caribou and their predators than federal regulators.

When the auditor general’s report into the project is released, it should be noted that this was a tough audit assignment. The ESRA project management model was new and the concept of building local capacity using CBAs was a model being used for the first time by the government of Manitoba. Our vision at ESRA was to invest significantly in capacity building in the early stages of the project to achieve the long-term benefits of hiring local companies with local workers and to help build a stronger local economy. ESRA has always clearly acknowledged that investing in capacity building early on was not the cheapest construction model in the early stages, but over time we believe it will prove most efficient. This vision has been explained to the auditor.

When the report is released it should be used as a tool for making CBAs better, rather than as an excuse for abandoning them. If it addresses issues such as how we measure capacity building success or how direct contracts with First Nation companies can be better managed, those recommendations should be adopted to make the process better, but let’s not throw the progress achieved to date out with the proverbial bath water.

It isn’t really important whether the ESRA or Infrastructure Manitoba manages the CBAs for local inclusion. What really matters is whether Manitoba’s new government recommits to continuing the road and to the inclusion of local First Nations in the work. To do otherwise would do a great injustice to the people living on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

Ernie Gilroy is the former CEO of the East Side Road Authority.