A group dedicated to preserving the Port of Churchill and the rail line servicing it is dismayed by the lack of details on how the government intends to keep the port viable after the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk.
Almost all of the grain that has moved through the port in the past has been wheat and barley marketed through the CWB. There is concern that traffic will dwindle once the wheat board monopoly on wheat and export barley ends on Aug. 1.
The federal government has promised to introduce short-term initiatives to keep grain flowing through the port but details have been scant, said Sinclair Harrison, president of the Hudson Bay Route Association.
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For instance, the government has announced that it will provide an economic incentive of up to $5 million per year for five years to support grain shipments of through Churchill.
But Harrison has yet to hear details, such as how the application process will work or who can apply.
The government has established a Crop Logistics Working Group that is expected to address transportation and supply chain concerns arising from the transition to an open market. It is scheduled to deliver a report to federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz in March.
“Hopefully there is going to be answers in March,” said Harrison.
