Mr. Speaker, constituents living at Prelude Lake report extensive and chaotic proliferation of unauthorized ice roads plowed on Prelude this winter. In the words of one, “Anybody with a plow has put in a road to their cabin and from cabin to cabin, criss-crossing the lake.” People travelling the lake by snowmobile, as they have safely done for decades, are being injured. Safety, environmental and transportation issues need regulation.
Foremost is safety. Traditionally residents have travelled to and from their cabins by snowmobile, but now it is almost impossible to cross the lake by snow machine because of the density and randomness of roads plowed and the six-foot snow berms as solid as cement that accompany them. Snowmobilers are being injured, including one lady this week.
These roads are not authorized or profiled for ice thickness, so the loads they will bear are unknown. Transport of large trailer loads of construction material and fuel thus represent a huge environmental liability. Illegal dumping and burning of garbage on the ice adds to the environmental damage being done. People say they use lake water for drinking and that unregulated dumping and road building could make that impossible.
More people are using Prelude, both recreationally and residentially, than in the past. With lands and waters now our responsibility, this government has an obligation to make sure that regulations are in place to manage their use for the safety and benefit of all. The proliferation of private ice roads on Prelude is, at best, inconvenient and, at worst, dangerous for the people living there and recreating there and the health of the land.
Issues raised here stretch across the departments of Lands, ENR and Transportation. As lead, the Minister of Lands has pointed out that there are legislative gaps for addressing this situation. There is a need for the development, implementation and enforcement of new regulations regarding land use, access roads and rules surrounding safe disposal of garbage.
While the people around Prelude unfortunately seem to have hit the road running, GNWT is just now getting up to speed in their new regulatory role. The Minister is committed to creating an
interdepartmental working group with Lands, DOT and ENR to delve into the issues and legislative review in the long term. We will undoubtedly continue to rely on band-aid solutions as issues like these arise, until we undertake a comprehensive review of devolution legislation. Will Lands at least immediately begin the thorough review the Premier promised but failed to deliver?
I will have questions. Mahsi.