Hon. Pat Duncan: Honourable senators, it is during the month of November that we offer remembrance, as Canadians are reminded of the ultimate sacrifice of so many and of our role in world conflicts.

November 20, 2022, also marks an anniversary of another war effort. This year, November 20 marks the eightieth anniversary of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ meeting at Soldier’s Summit near Kluane National Park in the Yukon to mark the completion of what is now known as the Alaska Highway.

The Alaska Highway was considered an option to supply airplanes and supplies to the Soviet Union during the 1941 U.S. Lend-Lease Act. It became a necessity to the U.S. with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. At the time of its construction, the distance was 2,333 kilometres from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Big Delta, Alaska.

Built in only eight months, it was rammed through true wilderness teeming with wildlife, pristine rivers, five mountain ranges and it was the most expensive World War II project undertaken by the U.S. government with an investment of $147.8 million. Canada provided the right-of-way.

In 1946, we took over 1,954 kilometres of the road from Dawson Creek through the Yukon to the Alaska border. The Alaska Highway forever changed the Yukon. The influx of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — 10,000 men — to the home of Yukon First Nations was recognized by Elijah Smith in the document that formed the basis of the Yukon land claim agreements, where it was called, “The Fourth Whiteman — The American Soldier.”

In a debate in the Yukon Legislative Assembly, the member for Kluane, Bill Brewster, recognized many Yukon First Nations people who had contributed to the successful completion of the highway project. Piers McDonald added:

. . . many of the people he cited as having played a significant role in the construction were aboriginal people who were encountered by the American military when they came through during the construction and played a significant role in ensuring the progress was as smooth as possible. It was testimony to the incredible patience, as well as goodwill, that native people have traditionally showed when significant events like this have happened in their history.

The relationship with the First Nations of the territory and the very landscape was changed. The legacy did not end with the completion of the military road. When the federal Department of Public Works took responsibility, their employees were housed in Camp Takhini, a subdivision in Whitehorse and the neighbourhood I grew up in. One of our neighbours was the now professor Dr. Ken Coates.

On April 21, 1992, in the Speech from the Throne in the Yukon legislature, then government leader Tony Penikett added:

Recently the government took over responsibility for the Yukon portion of the Alaska Highway and the Haines Road. This transfer comes with $23 million a year for the next 15 years for reconstruction and maintenance of the road, plus an extra $20 million over the next four years to help rebuild the worst sections near Swift River. At the same time, the federal government remains responsible for reconstructing what is known as the Shakwak Corridor and will negotiate with the United States government to make sure that the entire section, from Destruction Bay to Beaver Creek, is brought up to standard.

These negotiations continue today with President Biden’s recent $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

More than a transportation corridor, the Alaska Highway is a celebration of U.S.-Canada friendship — a cross-border relationship of families, friends, neighbours and nations. The Alaska Highway is fundamental to these relationships and of key importance to North America. I join with my Alaskan neighbours in celebrating the eightieth anniversary of its completion. Mahsi’cho. Gùnáłchîsh. Thank you.

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