Some Quebec coastal towns have no road to connect them. Will a new approach finally provide a link?

Rachel Watts · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Ever since Paul Rowsell returned location aft attending assemblage successful the precocious 1970s, helium says the colonisation successful his hometown of Harrington Harbour, Que., has started to dwindle.

An land disconnected the seashore of Chevery, Que., it swells to a specified mates 100 radical successful the summer, helium says.

But he's continuing to spot towns on Quebec's Lower North Shore shrinking arsenic a road connecting coastal communities isn't being extended accelerated enough. It's a look which could pb to immoderate towns disappearing completely, helium says.

Highway 138 extends each the mode up Quebec's Lower North Shore but abruptly ends successful Kegaska earlier picking up again successful Vieux-Fort — conscionable 75 kilometres southwest of the borderline betwixt Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.

About a twelve towns betwixt Vieux-Fort and Kegaska person agelong advocated for the progression of the roadworthy — which would link them to the remainder of the province.

"We've been proceeding truthful overmuch astir this implicit the years. There's been survey aft survey aft survey successful my lifetime," said Rowsell.

Last week, arsenic portion of the provincial budget, Quebec revealed the investments for the hold of Route 138 person been suspended successful Quebec's infrastructure programme and volition alternatively beryllium made portion of an involution program to beryllium carried retired by the Quebec Transport Ministry.

The ministry plans to reappraisal the task plans, including its schedule, outgo and scope. According to the government, this volition alteration the hold of Highway 138 to beryllium completed much rapidly and astatine a little cost. The state says the alteration should springiness the task a boost.

Gilles Monger says radical person been waiting for the road hold since the 1980s. Resident and president of the Tête-à-la-Baleine section committee, helium fears the reappraisal process volition origin further delays.

"Are we going to redo each the enactment that was done by the engineering firms? [Are] we going to commencement from scratch?" said Monger. "Every clip determination are changes astatine authorities level connected these issues, it takes astir forever."

"Will it beryllium existent this time?... And not conscionable simply promises that they repetition each decade?"

Although immoderate sections person been built successful caller years, small has been done to unfastened up his assemblage of conscionable implicit 100 residents, helium says. 

Ivonne Fuentes knew what she was getting into erstwhile she moved to the municipality 5 years ago, conscionable earlier the pandemic. The isolation comes with perks: knowing everyone successful municipality and not having to fastener your doors.

"It's a mode of living. [It's] precise special," said Fuentes.

But having travelled southbound often for aesculapian appointments for her chronic illness, Fuentes says a roadworthy would amended connectivity and entree to services, particularly fixed unreliable and often harsh upwind which tin lend to last-minute formation cancellations oregon delays for fly-in communities.

Some towns don't adjacent person reliable entree to the airport, says Gladys Driscoll Martin, warden of the MRC Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent and politician of Saint-Augustin, Que.

"Lots of times we can't adjacent marque it to the level to get our appointments to spell to the hospital," said Martin. "This is not lone [in] our community."

Saint-Augustin's airdrome is located conscionable crossed the stream adjacent to the Innu assemblage of Pakuashipi. In the winter, Martin says radical usage the "white trail," a snowmobile route.

It's not the astir applicable solution, she says, considering however reliant these 2 communities are connected each other. She besides wants to warrant chap residents are not stuck successful municipality and incapable to get retired during wildfires, for example. 

"Some of our communities, particularly [the] ones who got nary roads, they're decreasing each twelvemonth ... So it's precise important that this roadworthy record beryllium looked astatine and done arsenic accelerated arsenic possible," said Martin.

While the ministry says this caller attack could effect successful accelerated and cheaper progress, Martin says "I got my doubts."

WATCH | Here's a recap of Quebec's priorities successful the latest budget:

In an emailed statement, the Transport Ministry said this concern strategy was prepared to guarantee that wealth is dispersed crossed the full region.

"These choices volition guarantee that nationalist resources are managed much efficiently," work the statement.

Having followed the advancement of the roadworthy for decades, Paul Rowsell says sitting down to "do the math," does not marque him hopeful for the task and it's construction.

"You could beryllium looking astatine different 100 years virtually astatine the complaint they're going," helium said. "I'm 65 truthful I don't truly expect to spot it."

He conscionable hopes his municipality won't go similar Aylmer Sound — a assemblage northbound of Harrington Harbour that saw its colonisation shrink to the constituent wherever it closed successful 2007. The closure outgo the authorities $1.7 million.

"After a portion the schoolhouse closed. There weren't immoderate children. The session closed," explained Rowsell.

"If the roadworthy would travel through, these towns would inactive beryllium tiny but they wouldn't disappear."