Omnitrax cuts shipmentsof fuel to Thompson

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/10/2017 (2960 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Northern Manitoba MP Niki Ashton is accusing Omnitrax of putting lives at risk in retaliation against the federal government’s legal threats, as the company reduces its rail deliveries of fuel to Thompson.

The company wouldn’t get into specifics, but confirmed it has scaled back its rail operations.

“These come off as retaliatory measures,” Ashton said. “This is another level.”

Omnitrax and Ottawa have been in a standoff since a section of the company’s rail line to Churchill was washed out 22 weeks ago. The rail line still operates to Thompson.

In June, Omnitrax declared it wouldn’t pay to fix the line on the grounds it was no longer economically viable. That prompted Ottawa to threaten on Oct. 13 a lawsuit to recover the federal funding contributed to the company.

Ashton said that on Oct. 20, Omnitrax notified suppliers in Thompson it would reduce its rail shipments of fuel and freight to once a week.

The NDP MP claims suppliers estimate that will result in not just higher costs, but up to 150 monthly fuel-truck trips to fill the shortfall in gasoline and propane needed for residents to get through the winter.

“The impact of this is extremely widespread,” she said, noting that Thompson supplies fuel to numerous remote communities.

The increased amount of traffic along Highway 6, a one-lane highway from Winnipeg to Thompson, could endanger travellers, she said.

“The winter driving can be treacherous at the best of times, never mind with a dangerous substance,” she said.

“People at home in Thompson are saying this latest move could put lives at risk.”

The company’s chief commercial officer, Peter Touesnard, wrote Friday that the company’s taken off surplus trains over the past several weeks because of a declining customer base.

“With the Hudson Bay Railway no longer operating between Gillam and Churchill, we have reduced our operations along the portion of the line that remains in service, albeit with significantly reduced demand,” he wrote.

“These decisions were made in an effort to limit our financial losses in this business, and for no other reason. Since June, we have consistently made clear that the Hudson Bay Railway is not a profitable or commercially viable operation.”

City of Thompson staff confirmed their council met this week with suppliers about the issue, though the town’s mayor was not available Friday for an interview.

Some of Ashton’s constituents fear Omnitrax is winding down all of its operations in northern Manitoba.

“People are just beside themselves,” she said.

Ashton spoke to Energy Minister Jim Carr Friday. She said he promised to follow up with Thompson city officials. His office said he wasn’t available to talk to the Free Press. Similarly, no one at the local Stittco Energy branch was authorized to speak with media.

Omnitrax placed a full-page advertisement in Friday’s Free Press, thanking its employees along the railway, port and tank farm. “We made a difficult decision — one we stand behind,” it reads, without specifying the decision. The company later clarified it was referring to the decision it made in June to not repair the line, purportedly to give Ottawa ample time to respond.

Churchill Mayor Mike Spence said the fuel changes reverberate north to his community.

“The only resolution is the immediate transfer of these assets to a stable new regional ownership group,” said Spence, who’s co-leading that group.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca