Athabasca Member of Parliament Brian Jean was on Cloud Nine last week over the news that the road he calls ‘the highway of death” will finally be twinned. The sooner the better, says the Ft. McMurray resident.
“I’m told it will be finished in three to four years,” Jean told The Leader in a phone interview last Thursday. “Seems like they should have started it three or fours years ago, but you can’t always be looking backward. I’m happy enough that we’ll all soon be rid of the “highway of death”. So many people are killed on that stretch of road, I don’t think that undertakers can keep up with it.”
Hwy. #63 joins boomtown Ft. McMurray with Hwy. 55 near Grassland. There have been several fatal accidents on it this winter, and with oilsands activity expected to do nothing but increase, it’s bound to get worse.
Last week’s deal between the provincial and federal governments will see the project completed “as quickly as possible,” according to a news release from the provincial government.
Work has already begun to clear the brush from the roadside south of Fort McMurray. Twinning that highway has long been a focal point for Jean. Is it any coincidence that this major development comes just two weeks after Jean was sworn-in as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Communities?
“I don’t care who takes the credit for this,” Jean says. “I was shocked and surprised to get the call from Prime Minister Harper and the first thing I did after being sworn in was to ask for a briefing on Hwy #63. It really big news, not just for Fort McMurray, but also for all of northern Alberta. It will benefit Slave Lake because people from there work in Fort McMurray. It will also make Fort McMurray more attractive to all Albertans to come and visit now that people won’t have to worry about taking their lives in their hands.”
Another development is that the Conservatives allocated money to farmers and softwood lumber producers immediately after the cabinet was named. Stephen Harper discussed it in the caucus before he was prime minister to a standing ovation and Jean is happy to see it followed through.
“Farmers and softwood lumber producers built this country,” said Jean. “If not for them, we would never have been able to come and develop the oil and gas sector. Those funds were implemented to make sure that some of them will survive until next year! It’s good that we have a leader that is not afraid of making choices.”
Being a parliamentary secretary affords Jean clearer insight and the Minister’s ear, but it also makes more demands on his time. His schedule is more full than ever but he’s loath to take any shortcuts concerning his constituents.
“I’m off to Ottawa on Saturday for a week. I don’t have to be there, but I think I will be able to do more for the people I represent if I’m there looking at paperwork and figuring out what I can accomplish for them. I’ve hired a woman to help me run the constituency. It won’t be her job to react to my constituents, but it will be her job to work on proactive projects to help them.”
Some of the projects his new assistant will handle are increasing immigration to our area by expediting immigration procedures and bringing more affordable housing to the riding.
“Right now, lack of affordable housing is a crushing reality. This person will be doing what I used to do. She will work under my direct supervision and will answer only to me. I have more to think about now because my job is now all of Canada. But this is going to be my home for the next 100 years and I want to make sure that it will be great place to live for everyone.”

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