An agreement in principle for a Northern Manitoba ownership group to take over OmniTrax’s Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) from The Pas to Churchill, the northern section of which has been unusable for more than a year, has fallen apart and receiving another piece of bad news is disheartening Churchill residents, their Member of Parliament says.
"Over the past several months we have been working with the consortium to finalize the sale of the HBR,” said a July 3 statement from the railway company. “Despite our best efforts to find common ground on certain key issues, it now appears that this transaction has fallen apart and that a sale of the HBR to this group may not be possible. We would like to thank Fairfax Financial [one of the proposed ownership group members] and [Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs] Grand Chief [Arlen] Dumas for their good faith efforts to get a deal done. This outcome is unexpected and very unfortunate. We offer our apologies to all those who depend on the line. We will continue to pursue any and all opportunities to sell the HBR and related assets, and we will look to do so as expeditiously as possible.”
Churchill-Keewatinook Aski NDP MP Niki Ashton, who was in Churchill the day news of negotiations falling apart broke, said July 4 that residents were devastated by the latest development.
“What I heard from people in Churchill was unmitigated anger, frustration, deep disappointment. People in Churchill have had enough. They’ve had enough of OmniTrax’s games. They’ve had enough of feeling as though they’re being held hostage and that was a word that I kept hearing repeatedly yesterday. They’re sick of seeing the federal government share empty words of rhetoric, words that they feel are empty when there is no action.”
Ashton said most of the blame lies with the railway’s owner, which also owns the Port of Churchill, where grain-shipping operations have been suspended since 2016.
“I want to call out Pat Broe, a two-bit Donald Trump wannabe I would say, somebody who has shown not just disrespect but even disdain for Churchill,” she said.
But she also said the federal government bears some responsibility for allowing the town to be without a land transportation link for more than a year since OmniTrax announced last June that flooding had rendered parts of the HBR between Gillam and Churchill inoperable.
“What we want to see is the federal government … stand up for the people of Churchill, the people of our north and the people of Canada and that’s why I’m saying, based on what I heard yesterday, is that we need … decisive and immediate action when it comes to dealing with the port, dealing with the railway,” Ashton said.
“We share the concerns of the citizens of Churchill, and Northern Manitoba,” said a spokesperson for Natural Resources Canada, whose minister Jim Carr was in Churchill when OmniTrax revealed that talks had broken down. “This situation has had significant impacts to the town of Churchill and the communities along the line.The people of Churchill and all Manitobans can be sure that our government is here to defend their interests. We understand the importance of this rail line to the people of Northern Manitoba.The government of Canada has always been ready and willing to be a major partner in this project and we will find a way forward that will deliver a solution.We encourage all parties to achieve a reasonable deal in the best interests of the people of Manitoba.”
Churchill’s mayor and council said in a July 4 statement that efforts to transfer the railway, port and OmniTrax’s tank farm in Churchill to northern ownership were continuing.
“Our efforts are being supported by the government of Canada,” said the statement. “This process has not been easy and has not been timely. We share your frustration. But our buying group is united. We remain at the table and we fully support the efforts to conclude a reasonable deal. Priority number one remains finding a solution to repair the rail line as soon as possible.”
A complaint filed by the Manitoba NDP caucus regarding the railway owners refusing to perform repairs needed to restore rail service to Churchill resulted in the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) ordering the company to begin fixing the line by July 3.
HBR said it is prepared to proceed with those repairs, though it is also appealing the CTA’s order.
“We initiated the repair process last week by issuing an RFP [request for proposals] through our engineering firm AECOM,” HBR said July 3. “However, we want to make clear that this development may jeopardize the opening of the rail line this season. As we have previously stated, we are not in a position to fund the entirety of the repairs to the HBR in the absence of a sale agreement."
A CTA spokesperson told the Thompson Citizen July 6 that, in response to concerns expressed that HBR might not be complying with the federal order, "as per s. 33 of the Canada Transportation Act the CTA has filed the order with the Federal Court today, which makes it enforceable as an order of the court. "CTA staff continue to monitor the situation and will take action as required to ensure compliance with the order."
Ashton also said that Churchill residents were frustrated with the provincial government, especially – in light of the fact that propane supplies are running low with further fuel shipments not scheduled immediately.
“Premier [Brian] Pallister is the premier of Manitoba,” she said. “Churchill is a gem for us in this province. It’s renowned across our country and across the world and I would expect the premier to stand up for the community. People yesterday felt abandoned by the provincial government, very scared about the propane situation as well and repeatedly saying, ‘Where is our provincial government?’ I have no doubt that things would move faster in the right direction if we had a premier that actually cared about Churchill.”
The premier told the Citizen that the Manitoba government appreciates the federal government’s efforts to restore rail service to the Hudson Bay port town.
“This resolve within areas of federal responsibility is critical to overcoming the obstacles that appear to have arisen in closing the transaction,” said a written statement from Pallister. “In the meantime, the government of Manitoba will continue to directly support the people of Churchill and Northern Manitoba, by making provision for the supply of fuel and essential supplies, and by delivering on its 10-year $500M commitment to support the community in areas of provincial jurisdiction.”
Service on the railway from Winnipeg to The Pas that links up with the HBR and provides passenger trains from Winnipeg to Gillam – as well as Churchill up to June 2017 – is currently suspended after a train derailed 37 kilometres north of Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan around 3:05 a.m. July 5 while en route to The Pas. Sixteen passengers and five crew on board the nine-car, two-locomotive train at the time were taken to health care facilities in Hudson Bay for assessment and treatment and have now been released, said Via Rail, which operates passenger train service between Winnipeg and The Pas as well as on the HBR. Via Rail services between Winnipeg and Gillam are suspended until further notice, the company said.
