NextBridge – East West Tie Line is Complete

 

The ‘ribbon cutting celebration’ was held yesterday in the rainy weather to celebrate that the East-West Tie Transmission Line Project is now in service. The 450-kilometre, 230-kilovolt transmission line runs from Wawa to Thunder Bay. Project partners, including local Indigenous leaders, as well as representatives from the Ontario government, Minister of Energy Todd Smith and Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry Greg Rickford, attended the celebration to honour the project’s completion.

“This is a momentous day for the people of Ontario and NextBridge is proud to have brought our expertise and resources to the region to make it a reality,” said Project Director Jennifer Tidmarsh. “Despite numerous external challenges during construction, including a global pandemic and historic forest fire activity in the region, the NextBridge joint venture partners have fulfilled a commitment to the people of Ontario and the East-West Tie to deliver electricity that will power growth in the Northwest.”

A partnership with Bamkushwada, a group comprised of the most proximate Indigenous communities, saw the creation of Supercom Industries, a 100% Indigenous-owned partnership responsible for project hiring and procurement. More than 200 Indigenous workers received training and lndigenous monitors were deployed to ensure Aboriginal and Treaty rights were respected during project construction.

“Years of collaboration with Indigenous communities, countless stakeholders and right-of-way communities from Thunder Bay to Wawa were required to get us here today,” said Tidmarsh.