Churchill may have seen last grain shipment

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/11/2011 (4555 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The grain vessel MV Champion Bay left Churchill Oct. 31 toting 26,000 tonnes of Prairie spring wheat bound for West Africa.

It may go down in history as the last grain shipment ever from Manitoba’s northern port.

By the time spring comes and shipping opens again at Canada’s only Arctic seaport, the federal government’s bill to eliminate the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly on Prairie wheat and barley sales should be law.

That likely means no more grain will go through the port, says CWB chairman Allen Oberg.

Shipping grain through Churchill makes sense for the CWB because it’s the cheapest route with the least number of requirements to load and unload the grain. It isn’t the cheapest for private grain companies, who own equipment and shipping facilities on the West Coast, Thunder Bay and in Eastern Canada.

When the CWB loses its monopoly, the Crown corporation’s backers believe it will become the new little guy in the market, competing with major multinational grain companies that won’t pay to ship grain through Churchill when they can ship it using their own facilities elsewhere.

What it means for the future of Churchill is one of the biggest debates as the government’s CWB legislation winds its way through Parliament.

The second and final day of committee hearings wrapped up last night, with Oberg and federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz among the witnesses.

The bill will go through clause-by-clause debate today before returning to the House for third reading. Then it will go to the Senate. The Conservatives have the votes to pass it at every stage and it will likely be law before the end of the year, to take effect next August.

Alongside his legislation, Ritz offered up to $5 million a year over the next five years to encourage shipping crops through Churchill.

Another $4.1 million will be provided over the next three years to maintain the port.

The Port of Churchill has tried in recent years to diversify, but CWB shipments still account for between 85 and 90 per cent of the port’s traffic. This year, 16 ships hauling 507,000 tonnes of wheat and durum left the port. About 200 people in Churchill directly rely on port operations for employment.

Churchill NDP MP Niki Ashton says the government has not had answers for anyone wondering about Churchill’s future.

They’ve done no impact studies or analyses and Ashton said they won’t even stop to listen to what people from Churchill have to say. The committee hearings scheduled for the bill were limited to just two sittings for witnesses to appear and there was not enough time for Churchill witnesses to be added to the list, Ashton said.

“They’re not interested in hearing what those affected by the loss of the wheat board have to say.”

Two court challenges are underway to try stopping the legislation, arguing the government has violated the existing law by not holding a referendum of farmers before making substantive changes to the Canadian Wheat Board Act. One challenge, by the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, is scheduled for court Dec. 6. The other, by the CWB itself, has no court date yet.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca