An Indigenous leader in northern B.C. is praising the installation of new cell towers along a notorious stretch of Highway 16 in northern B.C., also known as the Highway of Tears.
The 720-kilometre stretch of Highway 16, from Prince George, some 500 kilometres north of Vancouver, to Prince Rupert, earned its name because of the more than 40 women and girls, most of them Indigenous, who were murdered or have gone missing along it.
A symposium held in 2006 by the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, as well as advocacy groups, led to a report outlining 33 recommendations — one of which was to establish a number of emergency phone booths and increase cellphone coverage to erase the 911 dead spots and make it safer for vulnerable women.
Now, Rogers Communications says nine of 11 cell towers scheduled to be built along the highway are in service. The company says that when the final two are erected, the new wireless coverage will “ensure continuous coverage” on the entire 720-kilometre stretch of highway.
Mary Teegee, the executive director of Carrier Sekani Family Services, praised the installation of the cellphone towers. Her organization provides support to many Carrier and Sekani people in north-central B.C.
“It is quite exciting that now we have this, the cell coverage,” she told CBC News. “And really, that cell coverage is literally … like a matter of life and death.”
Teegee said the recommendation to increase cellular coverage in the area came about after requests from families of murdered and missing Indigenous women, who said being able to call emergency responders would aid vulnerable people.
“I think communication is a human right, really, at the end of the day,” she said.
The activist is asking for more of the 2006 report’s recommendations to be implemented, especially when it comes to increasing accessible intercity public transit in northern B.C.
“We have to look at this issue not just in terms of, OK, you need cell coverage, but you need a broader system of transportation and communication,” she said.
“And so that needs to happen for the whole northern B.C., not just for Indigenous people, but to benefit all people.”
Teegee praised the installation of the cell towers as reconciliation in action.
The installation of the cellphone infrastructure came after $4.5 million in provincial and federal funding was announced in 2021.
At the time, the federal government said the total cost of the project was $11.6 million.
Rogers Communications says the towers will provide 911 access for all travellers and 5G wireless coverage to its customers, and the new wireless coverage will “ensure continuous coverage” on the entire 720-kilometre stretch of highway from Prince George to Prince Rupert.
