Warm weather jeopardizes Manitoba ice roads

For many Canadian cities, winter has yet to rear it's frosty head. Unseasonably warm temperatures across the country have left residents scratching their toques, wondering when the barometer is planning to dip below zero — and stay there for a while.

And while many Canadians might enjoy a frostbite reprieve, there's at least one region that's hoping things cool down — and fast.

As the CBC reports, the warm weather in northern Manitoba has delayed construction on ice roads, a series of seasonal roadways that allow residents to travel over frozen bodies of water and land in the winter.

Locals living in remote locations rely on these roads to get their supplies and groceries directly from the south, instead of paying extra when those same goods have to be shipped in.

"Winter roads are a necessity with the high costs of living up north, and we all depend on the winter roads," Irma Harper of St. Theresa Point, Man. Told a CBC reporter on Saturday.

But with higher than average temperatures this year, the timeframe in which to build these ice roads is shrinking, and has at least one of the province's top aboriginal leaders concerned.

"We've got to prepare for the worst. It's going to be a small window of opportunity," Grand Chief David Harper told the Canadian Press, adding that he believes global warming is contributing to the problem.

Harper added that the federal government needed to step up plans to connect the area's two-dozen fly-in aboriginal communities to a more permanent highway, like it already has in other provinces.

"All-weather roads into the northern region have to be taken quite seriously from now on," he said. "Saskatchewan did it. Quebec did it. We've got to speed up the process."

Both aboriginal and environmental groups have pointed out that Manitoba's winter has been growing shorter, and that the use of ice roads, so vital to their winter survival, has shrunk down to 20 days from 60.

The article mentioned a 2006 study by the Centre of Indigenous Environmental Resources that said a shortened winter has a "snowball effect" on the entire population, as weak ice makes it more difficult to hunt and fish, while a short supply of groceries from the south can lead to a number of health complications like diabetes.

Although a cold snap is expected later in the month, Harper is concerned it will be too little to late.

Provincial officials, on the other hand, feel the situation could still improve.

"There are always concerns if we have warmer weather," said Larry Halayko, director of contract services for Manitoba Infrastructure. "But we've had warmer falls in the past and ended up having a very good season in the end."