Highway of Tears symposium wraps up

PRINCE GEORGE – It’s been 20 years in the making, but the first gathering of First Nations aimed at addressing issues around missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls has wrapped up. This special Highway of Tears symposium was three days with ministerial meetings and presentations; a vastly different environment than two decades ago. That’s when 33 recommendations were issued, all crafted by family members of the young girls and women who had gone missing along Highway 16. One of the recommendations involves a special ministry. And its minister took to the stage today.

“So our ministry has been working to close the gap on that other kind of connectivity and also connecting the communities as well,” explains Diana Gibson, Minister of Citizens’ Services. “And over 15,690 households adjacent to or near highway 16 have now been connected by last mile high speed connectivity. And there is 11 cell towers, or almost the full 11 cell towers covering the length of the corridor.”

But Minister Gibson says there is some work still work to be done to connect as many as possible and that work is underway to fill the gaps.

“We know high speed internet isn’t about just health care access. It’s also about entrepreneurs being able to work in their community. It reduces the need for people to be on that highway if there is high speed internet for meetings, for school, for education, for health. And it means safety.”