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Letter: Chamber urges province to continue with Hwy. 69 expansion

Highway 69 remains a key transportation priority for all of Northern Ontario
Highway 69 2016
(Supplied)

Editor's note: The following is an open letter to Premier Doug Ford and his Conservative government from the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.

On behalf of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, we are writing with regard to your government’s announcement to review all government spending commitments, including those set aside for the four-laning of Highway 69. 

Our chamber represents more than 800 businesses employing in excess of 43,000 workers and acts as the voice of business in the Greater Sudbury area. 

Your government announced in August that it was retaining EY Canada to conduct a line-by-line audit of all government programs and services. More recently, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation confirmed that the line-by-line audit would also review funds committed for the expansion of Highway 69.

While your government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparency is encouraging, we are concerned by the review of decades-long commitments to Highway 69. 

Highway 69 remains a key transportation priority for all of Northern Ontario. It is the connective highway between Northern and southern Ontario; it acts as a funnel for Northern commuters travelling south and for business people, tourists, and relatives who travel North; and it is part of the Trans-Canada Highway linking Ontario to western Canada. 

However, despite its importance, Highway 69 remains a dangerous and underfunded thoroughfare, and in critical need of expansion. The four-laning of Highway 69 is essential to the economic health of Northern Ontario, to the safety of drivers on the highway, and to the overall health and connectivity of Ontario. 

The highway was designed at a time when the majority of freight traffic was still being transported by railways and cannot accommodate the heavy transport traffic that is now the common mode of commercial and industrial freight. 

Highway closures due to accidents or inclement weather can result in significant adverse impact on inter/intra-provincial trade, especially for companies that are dependent on “just in time” delivery to achieve maximum productivity efficiencies. 

Highway 69 is routinely closed for hours at a time due to accidents, adding hundreds of kilometres and several hours of detours to the commutes of thousands of people driving on the highway. Such accidents serve as both an economic and tourism deterrent, and are often fatal due to the nature of the road.2 

We hear far too often in the North of these fatalities and it cannot continue. 

A recent report commissioned by the City of Greater Sudbury indicated that population decline remains a worrying trend throughout Northern Ontario, with most major urban centres losing significant population from 2001 to 2016.3 

It is difficult to attract and retain people and investment in Northern Ontario when safe and convenient transportation to southern Ontario is inadequate. With the federal government’s changes to aviation regulations risking reduced service in Northern Ontario, building a robust highway connecting Northern and southern Ontario should be of paramount importance to the provincial government. 

Continued delays in four-laning Highway 69 have real economic consequences for Northern Ontario. 

The previous provincial government committed funding to complete the four-laning of Highway 69 in Budget 2018. In light of the recent statements made by the Ministry of Transportation, we urge your government to publicly uphold the commitment to four-lane Highway 69 and expedite its completion. For reasons stated above, Northern Ontario cannot accept any further delays in this project. 

We trust you will take our concerns into consideration and announce your government’s own commitment to completing the four-laning of Highway 69 as expeditiously as possible. We would welcome the opportunity to host you at an event in Sudbury to make this announcement. 

Michael R. Macnamara 
Chair of the board 

Debbi M. Nicholson 
President and CEO