Churchill closure a challenge

Omni-Trax, the American corporation put in charge of the Port of Churchill by the previous Canadian government, a few weeks ago simply announced that it would be closing the port and laying off the relevant employees. As a deep sea port located near the geographic centre of Canada, and for prairie farmers a facility that is a thousand miles closer to European ports than those on the St. Lawrence Seaway, Churchill would seem to have great potential as an important transportation hub for the country. However, Canadian governments for decades have usually done little or less than nothing to promote it. I suspect the fact that there are many more voters along the seaway than around Churchill may be a factor. This move by Omni-Trax presents, as I see it, a “fish or cut bait” situation for Canada’s Liberal government. A news report in the Aug. 19 Star-Phoenix titled, Minister promises ‘every effort’ to get grain to market, points out that both Agricultural Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale (a former agricultural minister) agree that something needs to be done to ensure that the projected bumper crop for this year gets efficiently to market. Meanwhile, the Port of Churchill, an important route to market for many Saskatchewan grain farmers, has just been closed, with grain still in the bins there. Did MacAulay say “every effort”? Hmm. We’ll see. Russell Lahti, Battleford