GINOOGAMING — The bridge connecting Ginoogaming First Nation to the town of Longlac has been deemed unsafe, prompting chief and council there to declare a state of emergency.
As of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Ginoogaming closed the stretch of Blueberry Street leading to the Making Ground River Bridge to all vehicular traffic on their side of the bridge, after engineering firm WSP recomended that the bridge be closed for safety reasons.
"We're cut off from the essential services like fire and ambulance and emergency services that are needed,” said Ginoogaming Chief Sheri Taylor said in a news conference by Zoom.
The bridge is the only easy way in and out of Ginoogaming (formerly Long Lake 77), a small Anishinaabe community south of Highway 11 along the east shore of Long Lake. Taylor said the alternative route to Longlac involves a 50 kilometre drive on a poorly maintained dirt road.
Taylor said she has told federal and provincial officials “I’m not waiting for anybody to give me permission to do anything.
“We are asserting ourselves in our jurisdiction and our sovereignty to the land and we will do what we need to do to ensure that we have a safe bridge.”
The bridge closure follows “70-plus years of jurisdictional wrangling and inaction to have this deteriorated bridge repaired and maintained,” Taylor said.
“WSP engineering has recently deemed the bridge unsafe for the people and children who have to cross this bridge on a daily basis – we had no other choice.”
Ginoogaming has “put in some timelines ourselves” to get the vital community link fixed, she said.
Taylor is aiming to have “some type of temporary solution” within two or three weeks. Any longer would be a problem due to the lack of access to essential services, she said.
Paramedics will still be able to respond to calls in Ginoogaming, according to Superior North EMS chief Shane Muir, but response times will be significantly delayed.
Muir shared the EMS temporary response plan with Newswatch. According to the plan the detour will take 45 to 50 minutes "if the road is better maintained than what it currently is."
Muir said EMS has had extensive meetings with Ginoogaming and provincial leadership to "to help advocate for an immediate solution." He hopes a temporary bridge will be extablished as soon as possible.
Within its emergency declaration, Ginoogaming council calls on industry owner Eagle Logging to close the bridge for public safety.
Eagle Logging has indicated that they will close the bridge by Nov. 12, according to Ginoogaming.
Ginoogaming is calling on treaty partners to develop a detailed plan and continue a feasibility study for a new bridge that would be owned by the First Nation, with funding for ongoing maintenance.
The bridge situation “has highlighted the pressing need for investment into basic infrastructure that our nation relies on every day,” Taylor said.
“We call on our treaty partners to join our efforts to keep our nation safe and to ensure our people have the same opportunities as everyone else in Ontario.”