Long-term thinking needed for Churchill

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/07/2016 (3720 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Climate change has found another victim: the rail line to Churchill.

It was constructed in a hurry in the late 1920s once it was found ship access to the recently built Port Nelson was tenuous at best.

At that time, permafrost was not really a factor. Early climate change a century ago had virtually no impact on northern Manitoba. In the rush to gain access, finally, to Hudson Bay, the rail bed from near Port Nelson to Churchill was constructed in an almost direct line… unfortunately, over discontinuous permafrost. Although it served for some 80 years, it’s now time to admit softening permafrost lacks the stability needed to support a rail line. If one is indeed needed, a new route needs consideration.

In this context, governments (Canada, Manitoba and Saskatchewan) need to work together to identify needs and consider all options.

Is there a need for an Arctic port connected to a rail line? Probably, because as climate change opens up new Arctic shipping routes, Churchill can provide access to and from the Prairies and northern trading partners both to the east and west.

Clearly, a new route from The Pas needs to be found. One option is to go south from where the line from Saskatchewan to The Pas enters Manitoba and go farther south to cross over to Grand Rapids more or less parallel to the existing road between Cedar Lake and Lake Winnipegosis, then follow Highway 6 almost to Thompson, or perhaps Gillam, depending on the best route from the former to Churchill. The actual point at which it departs from the road depends on the best route from there to Churchill. Options include everything from following a beach ridge near Hudson Bay to various routes more inland that, ultimately could more or less follow the Churchill River well below Missi Falls (north and a bit east of Thompson) where the river turns north. The review could also consider a more southerly route from Saskatchewan, entering Manitoba near Russell or Roblin.

The study of such options could take at least two years, but given the costs and potential benefits, it should not be rushed.

A reliable rail line to Churchill could bring the CNR back into the scene and return the operation of the line to a Canadian business as compared to a private U.S. company that appears to have viewed subsidies as a normal means of operating a business. Their proposition to sell it to a northern group illustrates its view of relying on public funding for private profit. To the extent public funds are needed, there must be a “public good” generated, not simply to help a foreign private company to run a profit.

In the case of Churchill, the “public good” would derive from a rail connection to an Arctic port which, as climate change continues to impact the Arctic, means access from the Prairies to both northern Asian and European markets for export of commodities and products varying from grain to manufactured goods. It also means a shipping point for fuel for Arctic communities in addition to that provided by Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec.

Unfortunately, much of the expenditures to date for Churchill have the ring of “ready, fire, aim.” Before additional money is spent on infrastructure, beyond short-term needs for essential repairs, a comprehensive strategy, complete with an overall longer-term set of objectives and means to achieve them, is essential.

This strategy needs to consider overall objectives for the “emerging and more accessible Canadian Arctic.” Included would be an outline of the role for Churchill within this strategy, an assessment of options to achieve this role and a practical design and implementation process to put in place a Churchill that will serve Canada well over the coming decades as new climate realities present opportunities never before contemplated.

The current closure of operations of the port may be the signal needed to exchange short-term fixes for a long-term, viable component of Canada’s future in the new world economy that includes Arctic transport as an integral part of international commerce.

Jim Collinson is a management consultant specializing in energy, economic and environmental issues who has held assistant deputy minister positions in the federal and Manitoba governments.