It will truly be a bright Christmas in one Far North community.
Turning on the lights in Pikangikum is a first step towards bringing a better quality of life to all residents in the community.
That statement from Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa, who was in the remote community Thursday to celebrate the completion of a transmission line that will connect the First Nation to the power grid.
Mamakwa says without access to power, houses to accommodate a growing population could not be built, and water and sewage infrastructure didn’t exist.
The NDP member stresses there will be no more brown outs, black outs and people being forced to live in the dark.
Pikangikum, a community of 3,000 people, will no longer have to rely on an outdated diesel generation system.
The connection was made possible by the work of community leadership and Elders as well as a commitment of First Nations-owned and operated Wataynikaneyap Power.
Mamakwa says he hopes this will be the first of many successes for Wataynikaneyap in connecting remote First Nations communities in the Far North to electricity.
