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Both the City of Winnipeg and the Manitoba government have offered to share the cost of building a road, but Ottawa has refused to commit.

Reserve residents were left in tears last month when Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford, the MP for the area, visited the band but refused to agree in principle to partially fund construction. Crowdfunding is underway now to raise Ottawa’s estimated share of $10 million to build the road.

Every year, people from the reserve risk their lives walking across through the ice trying to get to their front door. Many have died.

The aging ferry that residents rely on in the summer failed to pass government inspection in the spring, prompting the reserve to move elders out and declare a state of emergency.

The ferry has since been patched up but will need more extensive repairs to function next year.

“The current unreliable, expensive and often dangerous access to Shoal Lake 40 cannot be allowed to continue,” Trudeau said.

“It’s time to ensure permanent, year-round access by road to the community.”

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair declined an interview request but mentioned the reserve in a speech Tuesday to the Assembly of First Nations in Montreal. He suggested an NDP government would also fund construction of an all-weather road.

“It’s time we had … a prime minister who comes to the table when provinces and communities set their priorities, as in the case of Shoal Lake 40,” Mulcair told the assembly. “The federal government needs to show leadership.”