Redford ‘cautiously optimistic’ about tentative Ring Road agreement
Posted Sep 19, 2013 12:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Premier Alison Redford says she’s ‘cautiously optimistic’ that a deal to run the southwest Stoney Trail Ring Road through the Tsuu T’ina First Nation may finally be done.
Redford says, Nation Chief Roy Whitney-Onespot and Transportation Minister Ric McIver have done a tremendous job in reaching a tentative agreement, but confirms the ball is now firmly in Tsuu T’ina’s court.
Respecting Tsuu T’ina’s wish to withhold specifics on the deal until Nation members have a chance to discuss it, Redford says she’s been committed to getting the Ring Road built, adding she’s very pleased with where the two parties stand right now.
The Premier wouldn’t comment on the potential cost, but promises provincial funding will be there.
“In terms of the final result, what we know is that we’ve always contemplated that this will be part of how we continue to fund infrastructure in the province and that’s how we’re treating it,” says Redford.
McIver earlier told The Calgary Herald, the new agreement is similar in substance to the one voted down in 2009 with updated financial terms. The deal four years ago carried a price tag of roughly $500-million.
