A four-lane Trans Canada Highway that stretches from the Manitoba to Quebec border and through Northern Ontario will be great for the economy, said city councillor Terry Sheehan.

Sheehan was at the Sault Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting earlier this week when he heard MPP David Orazietti mention his previous motions designed to help Canadians cross the province a little more safer.

“It just sort of tweaked and I thought, we really need to go hard on this. It's important for our economy, for our Northern Ontario winters and for all the communities in between,” said the ward two councillor.

Sheehan will be presenting a notice of motion at next week's council meeting, asking city councillors to consider supporting a massive lobby effort that would include all municipalities and townships along the Trans-Canada corridor in Ontario.

The communities would urge the federal and provincial government to commit to the four-laning project and develop timelines when the work would be done.

“We need to look at this as a vision, something that obviously can't be done overnight but we can do over 20 years if the commitment is there,” Sheehan said. “I really want to work with David (Orazietti) on this.”

Orazietti welcomes the support.

It's the only private member's bill he's penned that hasn't yet been passed.

“Municipal support is very important to helping to advance infrastructure enhancements along the Trans Canada Highway,” he said. “I'm very supportive of any support by city council and I commend Terry Sheehan for bringing this forward.”

Previous city councils have also sent a resolution supporting Orazietti's motion in the past, but Sheehan wants to take it further with a full,coordinated lobby effort.

Historically, a 1949 agreement between the federal and provincial government called on an equal funding partnership between the two levels of government to develop a national link through the province.

The federal government argues that legislation was repealed in the 1990s and Orazietti said he believes its because the federal government doesn't want to live up to its commitment.

“I think this section of the Trans-Canada Highway should be twinned or four-laned to complete the national link,” Orazietti said.

The Trans-Canada highway in other provinces is mostly completed or four-laned, he said.

Sault MP Bryan Hayes said he's had the discussion with Orazietti in the past and most recently, there has been discussions between the federal government and the province of a 50 year plan.

“I am certainly in support of a plan to four-lane the Trans-Canada across Ontario,” Hayes said, adding that the plan will need to be long term.

“I feel in the interim, the focus needs to be on highway safety measures, that can include additional passing lanes, rest stops, paved shoulders and rumble strips,” he said. “Safety aside, twinning the highway will result in a more efficient flow of goods and services to the benefit of Northern Ontario and is important, but needs to be balanced and prioritized with all requirements for federal funding” including transfers for health care, education and social services.

Sheehan is also hoping to get support from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities and the Algoma District Municipal Association, among others.

He said he's also hoping that MP Bryan Hayes gets on board and show a four-lane highway would be great for the economy, especially with the planning of the Port of Algoma and the additional regional traffic that port will create.

He noted that the I-75 is a four-lane highway, despite the existence of small communities between the larger urban areas and says other parts of North America have done the same.

“It also makes a lot of sense to bring Canada closer together as a country and bridge the distance,” Sheehan said.

In addition, the development of the Port of Algoma will create the need for other improved transportation systems, he said.

Orazietti agreed and believes that much more can be done with the infrastructure money set aside by the province if the federal government provides its share, he said.

“I look forward working with the municipalities on this one,” Orazietti said. “Northerners understand that this is a significant undertaking and will take years to complete but if we had an agreement with the federal government, and we committed to certain number of kilometres being completed each year, Northerners would see that there is progress being made each year.”