1010 COMMONS DEBATES April 13, 1870
COMMUNICATION WITH NORTH-WEST
TERRITORY
Dr. Grant, in moving for the Reports of the
Public Works on the route of Mr. Dawson
through the Thunder Bay region, said he was
simply desirous of obtaining the fullest information bearing upon the very important
subject of the selection of the best line of communication with the North-West Territories.
He was of opinion the Government had acted
judiciously in opening up at present the old
canoe route of the Hudson's Bay Co., which he
hoped would be more a temporary rather than
a permanent means of communication, providing the information he had received from
various sources would coincide with the observations of the Department of Public Works
made
last season. It is a well known fact that the
Thunder Bay region possesses all the physical
characteristics peculiar to Laurentain regions
generally, abounding in high hills and deep
ravines, by far the most expensive physical
difficulties to be overcome in the construction
of any road. During the recent debate on the
Nipigon country, the hon. member for Algoma
adverted to a dam about to be built on the
Matawin River, half a mile in length and sixty
feet high, by which the water was to be elevated 30 feet above its present level.
The estimated cost was $12,000, but from information he
had received, and from his personal knowledge
of the country, such a dam as proposed would
cost $120,000, if not more. He was anxious from
these various facts which had come within the
knowledge of many, that the results of the
examinations made last fall should be brought
down, so that some reliable idea might be
formed of the practicability or probable cost of
the proposed Canal route from Thunder Bay to
Fort Garry. He was of opinion this matter
could not be too forcibly brought under the
notice of the Government, as the remoteness of
1011
this country, and the consequent difficulty of
getting reliable information in regard to it,
might lead to the expenditure of large sums of
money on a route which ultimately might be of
no practical utility. We had only to advert to
the early history of the public works of this
country to be reminded, how, from insufficiency of information, larger sums of money
had been expended without any beneficial
result, such as in the connection of Lakes
Huron and Ontario through the Trent region,
fully half a million was thus thrown away
prior to the finding out of a direct means of
communication. What he should like to see,
would be Lake Nipigon taken as a base of
operations, and observations extended east and
west in order to gain accurate information concerning that whole section of country,
with a
view to the formation of a permanent way to
the Red River Territory, in the meantime the
Thunder Bay Route would serve as a temporary means of communication.
Hon. Dr. Tupper said he had not sufficient
information to say, how far the statements,
that the route from Thunder Bay to Fort Garry
was all but impracticable, were well founded;
but he was satisfied that even if the most
sanguine expectations of the promoters of that
route were well founded, it was obvious that it
must be a very imperfect line of communication, as it would be closed by winter six
months in the year. He regarded the discovery
made by Prof. Bell, who was declared by Sir W.
Logan to be an able and reliable man, as very
important. Prof. Bell informed the Committee
of Agriculture and Immigration that the country, from the head of Lake Superior to
Lake
Nipigon, and for 90 miles westward towards
Fort Garry, was very favourable for a line of
railway, and he was informed that for 100
miles further it was of the same character. We
know that for 90 miles east of Fort Garry, the
country was level and the soil of good quality.
Under these circumstances he hoped that no
time would be lost in making a thorough
survey from Nipigon to Fort Garry, as it was
evident, that, if we would make the North-
West Territory an important part of this
Dominion, we must have rapid, easy, and constant communication with it from here at
all
seasons of the year.
Mr. Holmes said he was glad the hon.
member for Russell had asked for the reports
so far as made last fall by the Public Works
Department, and under, he believed, the able
charge of Mr. Munro. He knew something of
the peculiarities of that section of country, and
from the various reliable accounts he received,
1012 COMMONS DEBATES April 13, 1870
he thought the construction of a road in the
Thunder Bay region would be attended with
great difficulty and a very large expenditure of
public money. He was one of those who
believed that the sooner we had a permanent
way to the North-West the better. He had considerable experience in road construction,
and
felt satisfied that the mountainous country
about Thunder Bay and westward would not
prove very conducive to road construction.
What he would like to see, would be a continuous route such as a railroad to the North-
West, which must take the place of any land
and water communication as proposed by Mr.
Dawson. Under these circumstances he hoped a
thorough exploration would be made through
the level country to the north of Lake Superior, in the Nipigon region, as recommended
by
Professor Bell, before the Government would
undertake the expenditure of large sums of
public money on the road now in process of
construction.
Hon. Mr. Langevin said that when Dawson
was sent out, he was sent to open up a temporary road to Fort Garry. The work was
commenced, and the road built, except 27 miles. Mr.
Dawson, in his report, recommended the construction of a very large and expensive
dam.
Mr. Munro was afterwards sent up to make
further examinations as to the feasibility of
the route. This gentleman's report had only
been in for a few days. New surveys were to be
made of the region between Nipigon and Fort
Garry, the object of which was to discover
whether a mixed route of land and water
would not be best. Measures would be adopted
to ensure that no difficulty should arise between the surveyors and Indian tribes
of that
section. Next session the Government would be
able to tell the House whether or not a better
road cannot be had to the North-West.
Mr. Mackenzie said the land in the Nipigon
country was a
terra incognita to every one. No
one had been there who was qualified to state
what were the facilities offered by this section
of country. He himself believed that the Nipigon route would be the longest, as the
lake was
further from Fort Garry than Thunder Bay,
which was also the best harbour. Because there
was some good available land in Nipigon, was
no reason why that route should be adopted.
He cautioned the Government against paying
too much attention to hints about a new country without a thorough examination. By
the
present route they had about 300 miles of water
communication, and 130 miles of land, and so
far the route was favourable. The Nipigon was
difficult to reach in many ways, and they knew
little of the country except the land around the
1013
shores of that lake. Nipigon Lake was 160 feet
above the water level of Lake Superior, and the
harbour at the mouth of Nipigon river was not
in any way as favourable as the Thunder Bay
harbour. He would like to know if the survey
of Mr. Dawson was the same as that made by
the Department of Public Works.
Hon. Mr. Howe said that Thunder Bay
appeared to him to be a great harbour formed
by nature. He trusted that the Minister of
Public Works would give the whole matter, of
such vast importance, an earnest and prudent
consideration.
Dr. Grant said it was a well known fact, that
all those who have either seen or written about
this section of the country agree as to its level
character. The recent work of Mr. Russell, of
this city, contains much useful information on
this very subject, and it is well known that the
vast Laurentian Range, which crosses a great
portion of the Dominion of Canada, is backed
up by a level country extending up the valley
of the Ottawa towards the Montreal River, and
on to the Winnipeg basin. Such is also corroborated by various explorers who have
visited
these sections of the country. Prof. Bell pointed
out the existence of a level silurian country in
the Nipigon region entirely different from
what was generally supposed, and well adapted
for railway communication. Lake Nipigon is
150 feet above the level of Lake Superior,
instead of 400 feet as generally stated. He was
not aware that any particular survey of the
Matawin and Shebandowan had been made by
Mr. Dawson, where public works, involving a
large expenditure of money, were to be constructed. Last session when the Government
learned the facts, an examination under the
charge of their able chief, Mr. Page, was at
once set on foot, and now it is known from the
physical features of that section that it will be
an exceedingly difficult matter to hold the
requisite body of water, even after the proposed dam on the Matawin was constructed.
The fact of gentlemen holding mineral lands
about Thunder Bay should not be a sufficient
reason for the advocacy of this route in preference to a more available means of communication.
He felt satisfied the Nipigon country
would offer all the physical peculiarities
favourable to railway construction, and he
hoped that the day was not far distant when
the first link of such a railroad would be commenced, and extended to the Atlantic
on the
one hand and the Pacific on the other, and thus
consolidate our Dominion.
The motion was carried.
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