Deal hopes to establish alternative port for grain shipments

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An economic development group in Saskatchewan is looking to get regular grain shipments flowing once again through the Port of Churchill, Manitoba.

Invest Tisdale, the economic development agency for the town and surrounding area in northeast Saskatchewan, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last week with Arctic Gateway Group LP, which owns the Port of Churchill, to work toward the establishment of regular rail service to the port.

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The two sides have also agreed to work over the next five years to establish two-way rail traffic between Churchill and Tisdale while also pledging to work to attract new business and capital.

Chris Hudyma, economic development officer at Invest Tisdale, said it has been working for a number of years to reestablish contact with the Port of Churchill.

“It’s worked very well in the past for us under the previous Canadian Wheat Board; (there) was a system that was used and the previous ownership under the government was very handy for us and a lot of times made a difference,” he said.

Hudyma said it is crucial that farmers have the ability to get their crops to market, which has become more challenging recently due to a number of issues, the most recent being a strike by workers at the Port of Vancouver’s grain terminals. That dispute came to an end this past weekend when the union representing the workers and terminal operators came to a tentative agreement.

The Port of Churchill currently has the capacity to handle around five million bushels of storage. Hudyma said there will be a need to expand its capacity, but added the facilities along with the railroad are ready to go.

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“It’s there for us to lose if we don’t jump on this,” he said.

Hudyma said the Tisdale area is a highly productive agricultural area with many large farmers that are in a position to provide supplies to large grain companies as well as some smaller-scale consumers who may be in the market for more specialized crops.

“One or two or three (of the large farmers) can actually supply a miller in Europe,” he said.

Besides export capacity, Hudyma said two-way railway traffic is something his organization is hopeful about since it could help farmers when it comes to acquiring the implements they need for their crops.

Chris Avery, chief executive of the Arctic Gateway Group, said the recently signed MOU is something that has the potential to benefit a number of people and communities.

“The opportunities are there for a win-win situation that’s better for Canada, better for the grain farmers and growers in Saskatchewan and better for people in Manitoba,” he said.

Avery said the ownership group has been working during the past two years to get the railway that feeds the port up to where it needs to be quality-wise. With the railway now in good condition, he said the focus is now on improving the port’s facilities.

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Currently, he said if the port carries around five million tones of goods per year, it would put it closer to the level of the Port of Thunder Bay in terms of capacity. He added much of the focus now is on bringing in more business.

“We’re not ready for full capacity at the port yet, but we’re talking to more and more customers as we progress,” he said.

Churchill currently has a number of customers shipping a range of goods, including a shipment of critical minerals that was recently transported to Europe. Avery said the port also regularly receives resupply ships that come from Montreal before going to Nunavut.

The port has historically been important for grain shipping, but Avery said the ownership group is looking to be more diversified in the future.

“We see the future as a mix of commodities to go through the port,” he said.

Canada’s supply chain has experienced a number of issues due to some recent labour disputes, but Avery said shippers have faced other challenges due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control. One example being when flood waters in 2021 washed out highways in British Columbia, effectively cutting the Port of Vancouver off from the rest of the country.

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Avery said the facilities at the Port of Churchill could play a positive role in providing shippers and importers with another option to get their goods to market.

“It just totally makes sense for us to have at least one northern Arctic seaport that’s connected by land to the rest of Canada and North America,” he said.

mhansen@postmedia.com

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