(CNS Canada file photo by Jade Markus)

Churchill layoffs in effect, uncertainties remain

CNS Canada — Layoffs from Manitoba’s Port of Churchill are now in effect, but questions remain for those formerly employed by the port, the future of the town and the dynamics of Canadian grain handling. Answers to those questions aren’t coming from OmniTrax, the Denver-based railway that operates the port, as company officials have remained

port of churchill

Analysis: Canada needs Churchill, but do grain farmers?

The port and bay line are vital to the northern economy, but so little grain moves the impact 
on the grain sector would be minimal

Canada’s grain industry doesn’t need the Port of Churchill, or its railway — but Canada does. Both are important to Canadian sovereignty in the North and are vital to the economies of Churchill and other northern communities. From a farmer’s perspective the more shipping options available the better. But if Churchill — Canada’s only northern


An Aerial View Of The Port Of Churchill, Manitoba.

Churchill gets another booster

The Port of Churchill is getting a boost from the Manitoba government. Legislation to create Churchill Arctic Port Canada Inc., a non-government agency, to develop economic opportunities, spur job creation and ensure the viability of Churchill, was introduced in the Manitoba legislature Nov. 21. OmniTRAX Canada, which owns the port and the railway that serves

Churchill port no solution for forage exporters, report says

Demand for forages strong in other countries, but Canadian
forage growers face major hurdles getting their products to market

So close, but yet so far away. Although Churchill is the nearest saltwater port for Prairie forage growers, a consultant’s analysis has ruled out its potential as a cheaper option shipping hay to other countries. “We had hoped the Churchill port would be able to play an important part in the development of an overseas

CWB Working On Open-Market Model

The Canadian Wheat Board is working on a model for converting the single-desk seller of western barley and wheat into an open-market grain company. But for this “new entity” to survive the federal government must make major concessions, including assuming CWB employees’ pension liability, says chair Allen Oberg. “It’s our view that it’s the government’s


Group Promotes Canada’s Forgotten “Blue Water” Port

Early in The Second World War, Russian forces successfully fended off an attempt by Hitler’s armies to cut off the country’s crucial northern lifeline: the deep sea Port of Murmansk. A huge monument now stands over the harbour in recognition of the fanatical defenders and their battle to keep open a vital route bringing in

In Brief… – for Apr. 28, 2011

New president:Sinclair Harrison of Moosomin, Sask. has been elected president of the Hudson Bay Route Association (HBRA). Harrison, longtime president of the Farmer Rail Car Coalition and former president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, was named to the position at a board of directors’ meeting in Virden following the HBRA’s 68th annual convention

Letters – for Feb. 17, 2011

Wheat sold at a loss The 2009 crop took a year to get all the money from the Canadian Wheat Board. My cost to plant and harvest 160 acres was $25,897. When I got my last payment of $23,686 I lost $2,211 and did not charge for labour. I got $2.45 per bushel for No.