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Words but no action on port shutdown with laid-off workers now off the job

The shutdown of the Port of Churchill by its owner OmniTrax Canada, a subsidiary of Denver-based OmniTrax, continues to be the focus of a lot of talk but not much action more than two weeks after workers there received layoff notices.
churchill port ship
The closure of the Port of Churchill continues to be the hot topic of discussion amongst politicians and business leaders but its state remains unchanged from two weeks ago except that laid-off workers have finished their last shifts.

The shutdown of the Port of Churchill by its owner OmniTrax Canada, a subsidiary of Denver-based OmniTrax, continues to be the focus of a lot of talk but not much action more than two weeks after workers there received layoff notices.

“People in Churchill and the surrounding community are worried about their future, and the longer this drags on without a solution, the harder it is for them,” Flin Flon NDP MLA Tom Lindsey in an Aug. 10 news release, a couple of days after port workers finished their last shift. “The provincial government can’t continue to sit back and do nothing. They have to assure the people of Churchill the province is actively working with the private sector, including the owner of the railway and port to see the grain elevator reopen this season.”

Lindsey said he has also asked the federal government to waive employment insurance eligibility requirements for port and rail line workers and is urging the federal and provincial governments to find a quick solution to the Hudson Bay Railway, also owned by OmniTrax, reducing freight shipments by half from two to one shipments per week.

“It’s clear the Tories have no plan and don’t care enough about the north,” said Lindsey. “The Port of Churchill has long been a key contributor to the economy of Northern Manitoba and the world knows it as a unique tourism destination. [Premier Brian] Pallister seems unwilling to do anything to preserve this jewel of the north and has yet to even pick up the phone and contact the company. This is not leadership.”

Provincial government and business representatives had planned a trip to Churchill Aug. 5 but weather forced a cancellation. Instead, they met in Winnipeg to discuss the situation.

The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce (MCC), one of the meeting participants, said in a newsletter on their website that one of the topics discussed was northern infrastructure, which has not been properly addressed in the last 20 years. The meeting attendees also heard how decisions affecting Northern Manitoba need to be made with input from the region’s residents. Concerns heard from Northern Manitobans included the effect rail line freight frequency reductions will have on the price of food and whether OmniTrax would continue to maintain the line in such a way that Via Rail’s passenger train service, a vital transportation link for tourists, would operate smoothly.

The meeting also heard a presentation from Travel Manitoba which, said the MCC, made it clear that while tourism has a role to play in revitalizing Northern Manitoba’s economy it can not and should not be the focal point.

OmniTrax was also dragged into a discussion regarding 2015 federal election campaign expenses, when Churchill-Keewatinook Aski NDP MP Niki Ashton’s campaign team filed a complaint with Elections Canada about Liberal candidate Rebecca Chartrand, who finished a close second, failing to pay for a flight to Churchill provided by OmniTrax during the campaign, a violation of Canadian election law. Members of Chartrand’s campaign team told the Winnipeg Free Press that an invoice for the flight had been misplaced and payment of $750 sent to the company. The Liberal candidate’s campaign then requested permission from Elections Canada to amend her election spending return.

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