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An ambulance veered off the road in a photo from September 2019. (Submitted by the Conseil des Atikamekw de Manawan)<\/p>\nChief Sipi Flamand describes the only road in and out of the Atikamekw community of Manawan as a “failure of the state.”<\/p>\n
The 87-kilometre accident-prone stretch \u2014 located in the Lanaudi\u00e8re region, 250 kilometres north of Montreal \u2014 is narrow, winding, riddled with potholes and poorly maintained, he says.<\/p>\n
He goes as far as calling it the “road from hell.”<\/p>\n
On Sept. 30, which was also National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Atikamekw council of Manawan initiated legal action against Quebec’s Transport Ministry for failing to carry out the necessary repairs and compromising access to essential services, including health care.<\/p>\n
The council filed an application for a judicial review with the Superior Court of Quebec, says Flamand.<\/p>\n
In a news release Tuesday, the council says the ministry has an obligation to ensure repair and maintenance of roads for which it is responsible.<\/p>\n
It argues the government’s inaction infringes on statutory obligations and the constitutional rights of the community.<\/p>\n
An ambulance veered off the road in a photo from September 2019. (Submitted by the Conseil des Atikamekw de Manawan)<\/p>\n
“A road that kills is not a road,” said Flamand, adding that about 100 logging trucks circulate on the road every day in addition to local traffic.<\/p>\n
“Nothing has been done for us. We have been hearing about planning for years, it has become a word used to delay action.”<\/p>\n
The council issued a 30-day ultimatum in August but it was ignored by the government, says Flamand \u2014 proof to him that the time for discussion is now over.<\/p>\n
“They don’t want to hear us and it’s really problematic,” he said.<\/p>\n
‘We have the right to exist in our home,’ says resident<\/p>\n
Jolianne Ottawa uses the road at least three times a week.<\/p>\n
The 87-kilometre stretch could take up to two hours to drive when the road conditions are bad, she says.<\/p>\n
A Manawan resident and consultant in governance and management, Ottawa is the former director of health services at the Masko-Siwin health centre.<\/p>\n
Working as a nurse for years in her community, she says the road conditions caused terrible challenges.<\/p>\n
“I’ve had patients with fractures. It’s inhumane to make them go on the road,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We have the right to exist in our home.”<\/p>\n
Despite having “every reason in the world” to leave the community, she says residents are still staying and fighting for accessibility.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the Transport Minister told reporters the file was before the courts and would not comment further. <\/p>\n
The Transport Ministry did not respond to CBC\u2019s email request for comment before publication. <\/p>\n
The office of Ian Lafreni\u00e8re, Quebec’s public security minister and minister responsible for relations with the First Nations and Inuit, refused to comment on the matter.<\/p>\n
Road is ‘our only lifeline,’ says chief<\/p>\n
In the news release from the council issued Tuesday, it says the road impacts residents’ quality of life but also harms medical access \u2014 worsening the delays in ambulances.<\/p>\n
In 2022, a coroner’s report looking into the death of a seven-month-old baby from Manawan said significant delays in receiving medical care likely played a role in the girl’s death.<\/p>\n
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Sipi Flamand, vice-chief of the Manawan Band Council, said turning to the United Nations might not have been necessary if the provincial government had adopted Joyce\u2019s Principle. (Submitted by Sipi Flamand)<\/p>\n