Churchill will lead again as Canada’s Arctic gateway

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/11/2017 (2895 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When I was two years old, my father moved our family from York Factory on Hudson Bay to Churchill in search of greater opportunities as the fur trade was winding down. We were one of the last remaining Cree families to leave and since that time, I have been proud to call Churchill my home. Like many in Churchill, I have had a front row seat to our growth and development as a community, but also to the current challenges facing us.

The people of Churchill are proud, resourceful and industrious people. We are eternal optimists, both because of and as a result of our nature, history and geography. Anyone who has lived in or visited Churchill will attest to this being a very special place. It’s why thousands of people come from every part of the globe to visit each year. Our tourism industry is alive and well and developing more than ever before.

We are proud of our bears, belugas and birds, but also our burgeoning aurora borealis tour experiences. Our area has been a gathering and trading area for Indigenous people since long before the fur traders arrived, and true reconciliation and partnership with our Indigenous population will continue to be a priority for our community.

But Churchill is about more than just tourism. It is an important international export location. Beginning in the 1900s with the construction of the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill, we began and became the fastest and most economical route for shipping western wheat to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central America. For many years, the port served as a viable and strategic asset with national importance.

Despite optimism, the 1997 privatization of the port left exports of grain and other commodities largely uneven. The dissolution of the Canadian Wheat Board was a turning point that compelled the owner of the port to attract new customers. Innovation and investments, some of which came from the Canadian government, were required to provide breathing room and build a diversification strategy.

Unfortunately, this did not happen. The 2016 grain elevator closure and recent rail line outage have resulted in Churchill and the surrounding region facing more challenges than ever before. Nunavut, for example, has one less gateway from which to resupply its constantly growing territory, which includes mining development that is well underway. It is said that Manitoba stands to lose $300 million alone on that region’s resupply.

The good news is this can be reversed with a new stable regional ownership and effective management. The federal government’s commitment to rail restoration and transitioning the rail line and port to a regional ownership group is essential for future growth. The transition time is now, with farmers seeing record crops this year and backlogs at other ports.

Churchill is positioned to avoid handling costs of the St Lawrence Seaway and avoid congestion on the West Coast. In the face of climate change and increased shipping, we will partner with the federal government on an Arctic policy that will promote sustainable development that creates good Northern jobs and provides stewardship over our environment, protecting our bears and marine ecosystems.

As an Arctic gateway, Churchill is also a science, research and education hub. The Churchill Northern Studies Centre (CNSC) has over 40 years of research under its belt; combine that with the soon-to-be-constructed Churchill Marine Observatory, and Churchill is positioned to become a world-class leader in international science research.

The Town of Churchill has partnered with the CNSC, Frontier School Division and the University of Manitoba to educate the next generation of scientists, many of whom will come directly from Northern Manitoba. This is not merely a vision – it is a reality.

Churchill also offers cost-effective and timely delivery of health-care services for the North. In the face of health-care restructuring, interjurisdictional partners can all benefit from an expanded port and operational rail line. As Northern leaders have called for, our tremendous health-care facility offers an immediate relief valve for the region that can help eliminate the need to incur costly medical travel, and will also reduce wait times in Winnipeg hospitals.

Above all else, Churchill is resilient. We continue to adapt to the changing economic and environmental conditions. Our partnership with the Hudson Bay Regional Roundtable demonstrates how we, as friends and neighbours, can all succeed by working together. We are confident we will once again lead innovation in the North.

It begins with the repair of Canada’s most northern rail line and the transfer of these vital assets to a regional ownership group for the benefit of Manitoba, Nunavut and Canada.

Mayor Michael Spence has lived his whole life on the shores of the Hudson Bay in Northern Manitoba. He is a longtime business owner in Churchill.