SNC-Lavalin joins Shwe Miikaan to pursue Highway 69 widening project
August 10, 2023
By CCE
They plan to form a limited partnership.
Map courtesy Government of Ontario.
SNC-Lavalin has signed a co-operation agreement with Shwe Miikaan, an Anishinabek Nation-owned construction company, to pursue Ontario’s Highway 69 widening project.
The two companies plan to form a limited partnership, combining SNC-Lavalin’s transportation and engineering services—including project management, design and environmental services—with Shew Miikaaan’s expertise in construction and community engagement along the Highway 69 corridor.
Highway 69 is a provincially maintained north-south highway that, in conjunction with Highway 400, links Toronto with Sudbury via Parry Sound. It is a key transportation corridor for people and goods in the region and is part of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Shwe Miikaan is owned by three communities—Henvey Inlet, Magnetewan and Shawanaga First Nations—in Robinson Huron Treaty territory, where the provincial government is undertaking a 152-km capacity expansion of the highway, doubling it from two to four lanes between Sudbury and Parry Sound, Ont.
“We are confident this collaborative effort will not only deliver tangible benefits to our Indigenous communities, but also set the standard for future infrastructure projects across Canada,” says Adam Good, president of Shwe Miikaan. “We remain committed to training and hiring from surrounding First Nations. SNC-Lavalin will be an invaluable partner in realizing our vision for the development of our territories.”
“These kinds of co-operative delivery models reflect the way we’ll work on many future infrastructure projects,” agrees Ben Almond, SNC-Lavalin’s CEO of engineering services for Canada. “Governments want to see greater benefits flow to Indigenous communities in projects that pass through their territories. That means bringing Indigenous expertise, especially via Indigenous-owned companies, into our supply chain.”
The highway expansion project also includes construction of water crossings, culvert replacements, wildlife passages, work to maintain snowmobile trails and crossings and construction of new interchanges and service roads. Approximately 68 km remains to be completed, representing an estimated $500 million.
