Omnitrax obligated to fix rail line to Churchill: Trudeau

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This article was published 29/07/2017 (3004 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it’s up to Omnitrax to repair the severely damaged rail line that’s cut off ground transportation in and out of Churchill for more than two months now.

Speaking in Winnipeg Saturday morning, Trudeau recognized the need for “immediate action,” but wouldn’t elaborate on what steps the federal government is taking to address the situation beyond previously announced temporary measures like the expansion of the Nutrition North food subsidy.

“Omnitrax has legal obligations to clean up and to repair the tracks,” he told a crowd at Assiniboine Park, “that is something that we are very serious about making sure that Omnitrax lives up to.”

The Denver-based company has received millions in federal and provincial funds for the rail line, which it shut down in late May due to flood damage. As a result, the town of Churchill, which is home to 900 people, has been relying on expensive air shipments for food and other supplies.

Earlier this month, Omnitrax refused to pay the $20 to $60 million it would take to repair the line, saying it wouldn’t be economically viable. The company, which has had problems for years now with grain exporters choosing other ports, already closed the Port of Churchill last summer.

When pressed on whether the federal government would consider suing the company for breach of contract and whether it had set a deadline for Omnitrax to step up and make the repairs, Trudeau neither confirmed nor denied.

“There is a contract that needs to be respected and we expect that contract to be respected,” he said, “we will be using the tools at our disposal to ensure that and to stand up for the people of Churchill.”

The Prime Minister, who met with Premier Brian Pallister earlier Saturday morning, said they were both in agreement that Omnitrax needs to be held to account.

Speaking shortly after the meeting, Pallister reiterated his earlier comments that the Manitoba government is awaiting federal action about the Port of Churchill — a federal area of responsibility — prior to making any decisions about spending provincial money on rail line repairs.

“Rail and port are linked,” he said, “it isn’t wise to consider one without the other.”

Still, Pallister said Manitobans can expect an announcement from the government concerning the Churchill situation “in the coming days.”

That’s good news for Churchill’s mayor Michael Spence, who spoke with the prime minister Friday night and said he was “pleased” about the conversation between the province and federal government.

“It’s obvious that there’s going to have to be some pressure put on by both levels of government,” Spence told the Free Press Saturday afternoon.

“I’m expecting the governments to put the pressure on or come up with a solution so that the line can be fixed,” he said, “whether the governments need to force action or force Omnitrax to step aside… how they do it is strictly up to them.”

jane.gerster@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @Jane_Gerster