A new agreement will mean major projects like the Port of Churchill Plus revamp will be easier to get off the ground, according to the province and federal government.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Wab Kinew on April 14 signed the deal, which they say will streamline approval of major projects like Manitoba’s planned Arctic port expansion.
The “one project, one review” agreement “means shovels in the ground faster on major infrastructure projects that will transform our economy,” Carney said in a provincial news release.
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WHY IT MATTERS: Renewed interest and ambitious plans for Manitoba’s Arctic seaport have generated real anticipation among the province’s farm community. A fully upgraded Port of Churchill would offer Prairie producers a shorter sea route to global markets — cutting thousands of kilometres off the shipping distance to Europe compared with Pacific or St. Lawrence routes.
The agreement is similar to deals the federal government has signed with Alberta, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. While the announcement singled out Churchill’s port revamp by name, the governments have not specified what effect, if any, the agreement would have on the project’s timeline.
Port of Churchill on the agenda
Kinew and Carney recently met in Ottawa for their second quarterly meeting on the multi-pronged project to upgrade the Port of Churchill. This project includes upgrading the rail line to the port, developing an all-weather road to Churchill and northern communities, opening the Arctic trade hub to year-round shipping, and bridging the inland production of energy products to sea transport.
Next steps discussed included attracting private sector interest for an energy feasibility study, identifying near-term opportunities to boost critical mineral shipments from the port, and developing a plan to procure icebreakers. The leaders also discussed Churchill’s role in Arctic defence.
Farming on the agenda
Kinew also “pushed for more support for producers, farmers and Manitoba’s agricultural industry,” the provincial news release said.
This included highlighting Cereals Canada’s GATE (Global Agricultural Technology Exchange) project and the Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture at Brandon’s Assiniboine College.
Earlier this year, the federal and provincial governments announced an agreement between Arctic Gateway Group, which owns the Port of Churchill and its associated rail line, CentrePort Canada, the Winnipeg Airports Authority and the Province of Manitoba to develop an air, land and sea trade “corridor” for the Arctic and northern Manitoba.
