WINNIPEG — The final phase of construction is about to begin on an all-weather road for an isolated Indigenous community separated from the outside world more than a century ago. Freedom Road will provide a year-round landlink between the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation in northwestern Ontario and the Trans-Canada Highway in Manitoba. The First Nation was cut off from the mainland in 1915 during construction of an aqueduct that supplies Winnipeg with drinking water. The federal and provincial governments, along with the City of Winnipeg, agreed in late 2015 to chip in towards the cost of the road. Shoal Lake 40 Chief Erwin Redsky, along with politicians from all levels of government, was in Winnipeg for Tuesday’s announcement.

Source: National Post January 30, 2018 22:30 UTC