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Port Of Churchill Layoffs Could Devastate Northern Manitoba Economy, Ministers Say

Layoffs at the Port of Churchill could have a devastating effect on the local economy and leave northern workers in a lurch if no solution is found soon, the provincial agriculture minister and Churchill's member of Parliament say.
 
News that dozens of workers at the port have been laid off shocked residents in Churchill on Monday.
 
The Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents Port of Churchill workers, said 35 employees have been laid off. Dozens more who had hoped to get seasonal work also learned they won't be called in, Mayor Mike Spence said Monday.?
 
OmniTrax has not yet commented on the layoffs. The Denver-based company is Churchill's largest employer and has owned and operated the port and Hudson Bay rail line since 1997.
 
PSAC said the port employs 10 per cent of the local population of around 800 people.
 
Teresa Eschuk, vice-president of the union's local chapter, said OmniTrax "blindsided" workers and hasn't been communicating with union representatives.
 
"There was no discussion, no warning, nothing," Eschuk said in a statement.?
 
Niki Ashton, member of Parliament for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, said the layoffs are a "devastating blow" that will be felt across her constituency.
 
"I would say that OmniTrax's conduct on this front is not just troubling, it's frankly unacceptable," Ashton said. "If there is an alternate agenda, I would say this is the wrong way and, frankly, a very sick way of going about it. I mean, people's livelihoods are on the line."
 
About 700 kilometres southwest of Churchill, The Pas Mayor Jim Scott said he too is concerned about local jobs. About 75 to 80 people in The Pas work for the railway and could be affected by the closure of the rail line, Scott said.
 
"That's going to have a major impact on the local hotel business, the local restaurant business, just economic activity in general," Scott said, adding a train carrying grain destined for Churchill has now been sent back to The Pas.
 
'Big loss' for grain farmers
 
The closing of the Port of Churchill also doesn't bode well for the province's grain producers, especially in a growing season expected to produce a lot of marketable grain, Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler said.
 
 
"That's a big deal for us. Any time we lose any operations, either short-term or long-term, [it's] a big loss for us," Eichler said. "As Manitobans, we are on the verge of a potential large crop."
 
The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce said the layoffs are a "troubling development" for grain buyers and the people of Churchill.
 
"At a time of the year where grain should be flowing from the port, this decision will hurt a community that relies on the economic spinoffs," the chamber said in a statement.
 
Grain exports through the northern Manitoba port have increased slightly in the past 12 years, according to the Canadian Grain Commission.
On average, about 514,000 metric tonnes of grain passed through the port in that time, largely to destinations abroad such as Mexico, Italy and Nigeria.
 
Ashton said while business was down in Hudson Bay in 2015, the strong crop expected to be harvested this year gave some farmers a sense they could ship their grain through the Port of Churchill and boost profits.
 
Source : CBC

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