Churchill is Canada’s only deep water Arctic sea port. It is hugely important to the future of our region and our country.
That is why the shutdown of the port and sudden layoff that affects more than 70 employees is both shocking and unacceptable.
The port’s owner, OmniTRAX, was nowhere to be seen or heard when the announcement was made. As for the Trudeau and Pallister governments, they weren’t much better. All they could do was to send out carefully worded statements that said virtually nothing.
Enough of selling us out! The question is: Where is the Liberal Government on the Port of Churchill?
They created the problem by privatizing it in 1997, a sale that brought us OmniTRAX, a US company that doesn’t care about our communities.
Northerners and Canadians deserve leadership. It’s time for the federal government to work with First Nations, the province and Churchill to bring the port under Canadian public ownership.
As for OmniTRAX Canada, its actions are reprehensible. It has effectively shut down the port, a devastating blow for Churchill and the North. I wonder to what extent OmniTRAX is truly trying to find a solution for the long-term future of the port. This is not how a company conducts itself if it wants to sell the port.
Some observers believe the layoffs could be an OmniTRAX strategy to leverage financial support from the public sector. If this is a tactic to get more money from government then it is a pretty sick one.
As for the Pallister government, I have not seen any encouraging message from this provincial government as of yet. They need to stand up for Churchill and the North.
How critical is this issue? Keystone Agricultural Producer president Dan Mazier has stated that “This is a major blow to us, especially when there appears to be an exceptionally large crop coming. We’ve had so many issues shipping our grain east and west to port, and this was an excellent option. If ever there was a case for government intervention, this is it.”
The Manitoba Chamber of Commerce has stated “The port’s viability is more than Manitoba’s issue alone and more than the movement of grain. It is the Gateway to the Central Arctic, and its future is important to all of Canada.”
It is time to fight back. Please support the petition I have drafted to fight back.
It is time to fight for our Churchill, our North…our Canada.
