A back and forth situation has developed following a denied application seeking funds to renovate an air strip near Fond-du-Lac.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) has requested funding after a plane crash in December 2017 killed one person.
An application had been sent in to the provincial government, but later they found out their application was denied.
During a media conference Thursday at the Turvey Centre in Regina, Fond du Lac Dene Chief Louie Mercredi said while their funding application was handed in late and incomplete, it was submitted despite claims from the province it wasn’t handed in at all.
Deputy Premier Gordon Wyant stated how the Fond du Lac group showed interest in federal funding which is allocated through the province, however the government never received a formal application ahead of the June 20 deadline.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale said despite not seeing an application, this is the kind of project the Government of Canada would want to support.
“It’s difficult to adjudicate on the details, but it’s a project that would fit the federal criteria,” explained Goodale, adding how he has no direct knowledge with the situation at this time.
The Regina-Wascana MP mentioned how Transport Canada has already announced funding to help with safety improvements for the remote runway. What FSIN is pursuing is financial support to help lengthen the strip, which Chief Mercredi believes was a factor in the 2017 crash.
Goodale said in this case it’s critical to make sure there aren’t any stranded assets or wasted funding.
“One thing that’s important would be to ensure that you weren’t completing the safety upgrades just before tearing it all up again to do the lengthening,” said Goodale. “There’s a sequencing here that’s important to make sure one investment reinforces the other.”
The airport for the Fond du Lac Dene Nation has become vital for the community since the majority of their food and travel is thanks to planes.
$896 million is being pledged by the feds over the next 10 years through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to address what Goodale calls a “pent-up demand” for infrastructure projects of all kinds with a specific stream for rural and remote areas in the country.
