By Marta Bristow, Research Associate, Conference Board of Canada

The residents of Fort Liard, a remote community in the Northwest Territories, endured a two-week closure this past spring of the only highway linking them to the rest of the territory. Highway 7, also known as Liard Trail, had deteriorated so badly, several sections north of town were impassable.

The highway has been plagued with severe maintenance challenges in recent years. Shortcomings in the highway's original design and construction have been exacerbated by higher volumes of heavy-vehicle traffic and unusually wet weather. The territorial government acknowledges the need to rebuild the road, but given its limited resources, must weigh that need against other infrastructure requirements across the territory.

Yet, local residents were relatively unperturbed by the highway's latest closure. According to one town official, they "gave up on the road years ago." (1) Town residents are much more concerned about the highway linking them to Fort Nelson, B.C. in the South. They receive most of their mail and supplies via Fort Nelson, and as result, feel closer ties to the province of B.C. than to their own territory.

This example is emblematic of the unique circumstances and challenges associated with transportation infrastructure in Canada's North. Road access connects a community to the outside world and establishes regional links that are central to the community's identity. It also illustrates some of the difficulties with maintaining and operating infrastructure in remote areas, particularly given that public resources are so thinly stretched.

Transportation infrastructure plays an integral role in the socio-economic well-being of northern communities in Canada. It's an asset that improves commercial prospects, strengthens regional connections, provides access to key health and social services, and facilitates the flow of people and goods.

Access is particularly crucial in areas where there are few or even no transportation alternatives. As a recent report by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy pointed out, this is a key difference with northern transportation systems. Southern parts of the country often have many transportation backups and redundancies in the event of an infrastructure failure. But, in the North, an infrastructure failure can lead to bare grocery store shelves, or disrupt emergency medical services. (2)

Climate change is exacerbating these challenges. It is causing temperatures to rise more quickly in the North than in other regions of Canada, resulting in permafrost degradation, extreme precipitation, and other complications that cause havoc for northern road, rail, and air infrastructure. In particular, the declining viability of winter ice roads is a major problem for the many remote communities and resource development projects relying on them for supplies.

And why should the rest of Canada care? Northern transportation infrastructure directly affects the public interest of Canadians through its crucial role in national sovereignty, safety, and security. Yet, there is little infrastructure in place in the North to fulfill this role. The Dempster Highway, an all-weather gravel road running from Dawson City, Yukon, to Inuvik, N.W.T., is the only northern highway that crosses the Arctic Circle.

Clearly, the transportation infrastructure gap in Canada's North must be addressed. What's not so clear is the best approach for addressing this gap. In many cases, infrastructure investments in the North are for projects that do not stand on their own economically, yet are vital for economic and community development.

With an abundance of natural resources and a youthful population, Canada's northern communities offer significant potential for economic growth and prosperity. But, better transportation access is needed to maximize their potential.

The public sector, in particular, has an opportunity to take a leadership role by developing a sustained and coordinated transportation policy strategy that responds to the North's unique circumstances. Policies to strengthen transportation links would support the economic and social sustainability of northern communities, and would also advance the current federal government's interests in strengthening Arctic sovereignty and developing resource industries.

The Centre for the North explores these issues in a new report, Northern Assets: Transportation Infrastructure Development in Remote Communities. It examines the risks and benefits of developing transportation infrastructure in the North, and their implications for policy-makers. A case study of Churchill, Manitoba sheds light on public-private partnerships, conflicting interests among key stakeholders, and the community impacts of development. Climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the possible contribution of alternative options such as airships, are also discussed.

Northern Assets: Transportation Infrastructure Development in Remote Communities will be available for download from The Centre for the North's website and from The Conference Board of Canada's e-Library on December 15, 2011.