By Xavier Kataquapit
Windspeaker.com
When I was a teenager attending high school in Timmins in the early 1990s people from the James Bay coast were just starting to get accustomed to the modern way of life in the south.
There were not a lot of people who had driver’s licenses and there were even less people who owned their own vehicles. It was a very special thing to see someone from the James Bay coast driving a vehicle and even more so if they owned the car or truck they were in.
My dad Marius was an entrepreneur who was constantly searching for ways to build a business or gain a foothold in industry wherever he could. Although English was his second language and all his skills mostly had to do with how to survive on the land on his own, he was bright and confident enough to search for work and opportunities in the big city.
He was never afraid to go and figure out how to manage a construction project, find heavy machinery or just gather any and all materials he needed for his next big project in the north. He usually arrived in Timmins during this time of year in November and December.
He wanted to prepare ahead of the winter season so that he could transport everything he needed to the rail service in Cochrane and then move everything over the seasonal winter road back to Attawapiskat.
As soon as he arrived in Timmins, he was always happy to meet his sons who were attending secondary school, including my older brothers Philip, Antoine and Mario and myself However, I also remember that it was always difficult.
Dad couldn’t rent a vehicle because neither he nor his sons had driver’s licenses. So instead, dad spent a good portion of the money he had raised on taxis and hiring other people to move about town to get to where he needed.
I can still remember him constantly moaning in Cree of how he wished he could have his own vehicle and how much more he could do if he had.
Since then, things have changed a lot for many people on the James Bay coast. More people are attending post-secondary school in the south, as well as having better jobs and opportunities. It all meant that more people acquired their driver’s licenses and eventually people starting owning, licensing and managing their own vehicles.
Many people from the James Bay coast like myself are driving around on the highways now. Dad would be amazed to see so many of his grandchildren driving and owning their own trucks and cars.
As happy as I am to see these changes, I am also worried about the dangers of the highway, especially during the winter. The combination of fast highway driving and this time of year where temperatures fluctuate between freezing and thawing is a dangerous mixture of icy roads and misplaced confidence.
Over the past two decades, I’ve known several people who have been in minor events and a few people who have died from major accidents on Highways 11 and 101 in northern Ontario. There are too many transport trucks on the highway and the requirements for training for drivers seems not to be adequate. This winter has just started and almost daily there are reports of serious accidents.
According to the Ontario Provincial Police statistics, there were just over 350 highway fatalities in the province in 2022 and that statistic increased to 411 in 2023.
Personally, I’ve been driving on highways in Ontario since the late 1990s and back then the roads were busy but manageable. I’ve also been riding a motorcycle every summer for the same number of years.
Riding on an open seat on top of two wheels and an engine with nothing to protect you in an accident makes you very aware of what is on the road. I can definitely say that there is a lot more traffic on the highway than there was 20 years ago.
Dad in his final years was able to see his sons and daughters and grandchildren in their own vehicles which made him very happy. However, he saw the same dangers as I do now and he was always quick to warn everyone to watch out for their driving, especially this time of year.
So, I caution everyone out there to be careful on our icy roads. Please slow your speed and check weather updates.
If the roads are dangerous and a storm is happening then stay put. Personally, I would prefer if you were more cautious and live to drive another day.