What an incredible advocate for the North! Joanne Monaghan (Kitimat City Councillor and former Regional District Kitimat-Stikine Director) spent ten minutes on the phone with the host of CBC Radio’s afternoon show, just before the six o’clock news, describing the conditions we are facing here with our limited and poor highways.

Providing a very clear and concise description of the “deplorable” condition of the Cranberry Connector, Monaghan left the listener smiling as she kept the seriousness of the matter lighthearted.

“They run when they see me coming,” she told the interviewer when he asked her about her attempts to speak with the Government Ministers responsible,” Cause they know what I’m going to say. I have been doing this for a long time.”

When asked her opinion on the Highways Ministers comments regarding that the high cost of rebuilding the Cranberry Connector would offset any potential benefit, and Minister Falcons reference to the Northern residents being used to the highway being out of service for a day or to every once in a while, Monaghan still maintained composure but did get a little blunt with her commentary.

“The North seems to survive quite well with those closures,” had stated Falcon.

“We’re used to it?” She exclaimed, “More like we tolerate it, we don’t have any choice. It’s always kind of irked me that we have all these resources that are taken out of our region and we get little in return. They can put millions and millions into the Sea to Sky highway for the Olympics,” continued Monaghan, “The other thing with the Cranberry Connector (is that when highway 16 is out of service) the Nisga’a, the Nass, Terrace, Kitimat, they’re all isolated. We need an alternative when the prime road is closed.”

Earlier in the interview she described that a semi has already left the road on the Connector and it took quick action by other drivers to save it from “falling down into the valley”.

“They haven’t figured out which Ministry is responsible for the road,” she told the interviewer, “the transportation Ministry doesn’t want it because it is being used as a logging road so in their opinion forestry is using it." indicating that the two Ministry's are passing the buck back and forth, " Right now two trucks have a difficult time passing each other. Logging trucks are used to it and are familiar with where the pullouts are. The state of this road is deplorable.”

In regards to the Ministers comments on the cost study analysis that they prepared in 2004, Monaghan challenged that they forgot to include, "in the equation", the tourism benefit.

“The circle route from Cranberry Junction (on Highway 37) through the Nass Valley makes for an ideal Tourist attraction and the benefit of that was not considered.” concluded Monaghan, laughing, as the show came to an end for the news, “ What, I can’t rant anymore?”