Notley promises second route out of Fort Mac
Almost three years after tens of thousands of Fort McMurray residents scrambled down a single choked highway to escape a monstrous wildfire, NDP Leader Rachel Notley promised her government would push ahead on a second route out of the northern city if re-elected.
Notley rolled out the promise Wednesday during a campaign stop in Fort McMurray, where she also laid out a $1.35-billion plan to expand the Alberta high-load corridor over the next six years.
“It was one of the scariest moments in many people’s lives, but folks made it through because they stuck together,” Notley said of the wildfire evacuation, which saw every vehicle forced onto the existing Highway 63 to escape. “We know Fort McMurray needs a second route out.”
The province previously invested $5 million for pre-design into the East Clearwater Highway project, which the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo endorsed in 2016 as a new evacuation route for all communities between Anzac and Fort McKay.
Notley, who noted the next phase in that project involves community consultations, didn’t confirm that would be the route or what funding would be needed.
‘Toll free’
The high-load corridor is a 6,500-kilometre network of roads across the province that can accommodate heavy vehicles weighing up to 800 tonnes, and up to 12.8 metres tall. Notley’s plan would expand the network by 3,500 kilometres.
“That high-load corridor gives Alberta a distinct competitive advantage,” she said. “We will ensure that Alberta’s highways are prepared to handle the increase in movement of large equipment and fabricated components related to the growth in petrochemical upgrading and refining sectors.”
A study conducted by the provincial government and released in January recommended a $1.6-billion infusion to upgrade the corridor.
Notley used Wednesday’s announcement to rehash a battle she had with UCP Leader Jason Kenney over toll roads. “My opponent in this election disagrees with me on tolls,” she said. “We’re going to keep Alberta toll free.”
In January, Notley accused Kenney of planning to install toll roads if he wins the upcoming election, but the UCP fired back saying the NDP is taking an “ideological government-only approach to infrastructure.
“Thanks to the fiscal disaster left by an NDP government that has put the province on track for $100 billion in debt, we need to find new and creative approaches for needed industrial infrastructure,” said UCP spokesperson Christine Myatt at the time.
The UCP said if elected, tolls for projects, such as a road built to benefit industry, would be on the table.
Kenney responded to the highload corridor plan while at a news conference in Lac St. Anne Wednesday.
“We obviously will continue investments in infrastructure — it’s critical we can get equipment up to Fort McMurray without undue strain on traffic,” he said. “It’s a key economic artery for the province, so we would certainly incorporate that into our infrastructure plan.”
‘FIGHT OF MY LIFE’
Notley also doubled down on her pipeline messaging in Fort McMurray, repeating a phrase that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been “the fight of my life.”
“We’re not there yet, but we are making progress,” she said, adding the NDP “compelled” the federal government to buy the pipeline. “If you re-elect me as your premier, I promise you that I will not stop that fight until the job is done.”
The pipeline saga plagued Notley’s government with continued delays including a Federal Court of Appeal decision that stalled construction and threw the project into doubt. In February, the National Energy Board once again recommended project approval after the latest regulatory review.
The expansion from the Edmonton area to Burnaby, B.C., would nearly triple the line’s capacity to 890,000 bpd.
Notley’s stop in Fort McMurray followed two major platform announcements in Calgary during the second week of campaigning.
On Monday, Notley announced an NDP government would extend the party’s flagship $25-a-day child care program to all spaces in the province, costing about $1.5 billion over five years. Then on Tuesday, she announced a plan to commit $90 million per year to help reduce surgical wait times and to increase emergency care.
Albertans head to the polls on April 16.