Thursday, July 28, 2016

Port of Churchill is closed


The owners of the port of Churchill on James Bay have closed it down before any grain could be shipped.

It has been kept alive for decades, despite problems with the rail line running through muskeg and rumours that the grain terminals are slowly sliding into the bay.

But a strong lobby by farmers and grain companies has, until now, kept it open with arguments that it moves a lot of grain and is the shortest route to European markets. They also hoped that global warming would keep the shipping lines open longer every season.

But Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says Omnitrax kept it going last year only because the NDP government he defeated secretly gave it $500,000.


He said there’s a confidentiality clause in the deal with Omnitrax. He obviously does not feel himself bound by that government commitment and he said his government will not provide the money Omnitrax sought for this season.