THUNDER BAY — Seventeen years ago, First Nations leaders in Northwestern Ontario hatched a plan to “bring light” with a power transmission line serving remote communities.
This week at a Thunder Bay hotel, they celebrated the Wataynikaneyap Power project’s completion.
The Watay line, which connects isolated communities to the provincial grid, has improved reliability in electricity for her community, Wawakapewin First Nation Chief Anne-Marie Beardy said while music played before Wednesday’s celebration dinner.
Zachariah Tait, representing Wapekeka First Nation, said he’s personally happy for the transmission line “because I can have more things to plug into my house.
“You know, I can have my kids use up all the electricity they want,” he said with a grin.
“When I was young,” Tait said, “I heard stories about this project starting up, and they had a lot of options back then. And then finally our First Nations took the initiative, and I was very glad that they did.”
The $1.9-billion transmission project dubbed Wataynikeneyap – which means “line that brings light” – began in 2007, mandated to connect northern remote communities to the provincial power grid.
The company is 51 per cent owned by 24 First Nations, with Newfoundland-headquartered Fortis Inc. and other private investors owning the rest.
The goals in installation of the 1,800-kilometre power line are to improve the lives and health outcomes of people in remote First Nations while eliminating aging and diesel generators.
In all, 17 communities have been grid-connected through the line that brings light. Thirteen of them now get electricity from the provincial grid delivered to their homes and workplaces; the other four will be fully “energized” in 2025.
Cat Lake Chief Russell Wesley’s First Nation northwest of Sioux Lookout was already grid-connected long before the Watay plan was hatched.
Cat Lake got on board with the project partly “because of the environmental issues in the far north” where millions of gallons of diesel were being burned every year, he said Wednesday.
Wesley added that he’s “certainly proud of (Watay’s board), because it's an extraordinary job to complete such a huge, monumental project. And you know, I'm glad to be part of that.”
“It was a very large project with remote areas and lots going on and lots of people,” said Carey Kostyk, president of Valard, the project’s general contractor.
Challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic and forest fires were overcome by a “a great workforce that was committed and dedicated,” he said.
“They worked in tough situations. They worked in isolation, particularly during COVID. And, you know, we're very proud of our workforce that got this job done on time.”
