The Manitoba government is forming a new agency to develop and diversify the Port of Churchill, but it still opposes shipping oil through the Hudson Bay port.
In November, the province introduced legislation to create Churchill Arctic Port Canada Inc., a non-profit with a mandate of stimulating economic activity at the port.
“The new corporation will attract and co-ordinate investment linked to the Port of Churchill, support re-search, planning and partnership development,” said Manitoba transportation minister Steve Ashton.
While the province is promoting the export of resources through the port, it still opposes a plan to export petroleum via Churchill.
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Earlier this year OmniTRAX, a U.S. company that owns the port and the railway that serves it, announced plans to ship Alberta oil by rail through the Port of Churchill.
“We have a number of companies that are very interested,” said Brad Chase, OmniTRAX Canada president in April. “The companies … are producers, mid marketers who trade the product, and refiners….”
In September, Manitoba’s transportation minister Steve Ashton said it’s too “risky” to ship oil across northern Manitoba because a rail spill could harm the boreal forest or tundra ecosystems in the region.
Despite provincial and environmental group objections, OmniTRAX is pushing ahead on a pilot project to ship light, sweet crude through Churchill in 2014.
Churchill Arctic Port Canada Inc., the new agency, will serve a similar role to the Churchill Gateway Development Corp., a public-private partnership between the federal government, the province and OmniTRAX, which has been in place since 2003.
The province said Churchill Gateway Development Corp. directors will help set up the new agency.
