Churchill marks dour milestone a year after layoffs at its port

One year after the Port of Churchill laid off its workers, the town of 899 estimates it's lost 93 full-time jobs due to the suspension of activity at the port, the subsequent closure of the Hudson Bay Railway and the resulting spinoff effects on the tourism and transhipment industry.

Mayor Mike Spence says his northern Manitoba town is devastated by its worst year since the Great Depression, when the Port of Churchill was completed.

"We pride ourselves as a port community, a railway terminus [and] an international tourism destination. And we're puzzled by the fact that here we are in this 2017, Canada's 150th birthday, that we're having the most challenging time," Spence said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Churchill.

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Port of Churchill owner OmniTRAX laid off dozens of workers at the Port of Churchill on July 25, 2016. It later cut back freight service to the community before the Hudson Bay Railway was shuttered altogether this spring by heavy snowmelt.

Denver-based OmniTRAX, which has pegged the cost of repairing the line at $60 million, has no plans to conduct the work. The company has requested financial assistance from the province, which insists the port is a federal responsibility.

In the meantime, laid-off Churchill workers have either taken up other jobs, left the community to find work elsewhere or remain unemployed. The closure of the port and rail line led to layoffs at transhipment firm Gardewine as well as staff reductions at Churchill hotels.

"It's one thing after another. It's been a long year," said Joe Stover, a laid-off port worker who returned to work at Churchill's airport and also works as a tour guide.

"We've never had the loss of the railway long-term before. Last year, the loss of the port, I thought, was the lowest our morale could have got. I really had no idea until the rail line went out how directly it would affect people."

It's one thing after another. It's been a long year.- Joe Stover, laid-off port worker

Stover said while has replaced some of his lost hours, he knows of several people who have left town to work on the Keeyask hydro-electric project on the Nelson River or have found jobs in southern Manitoba. 

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The tourism industry has also been affected, mainly because independent travellers can no longer take the train to Churchill.

While package tours to Churchill for the summer beluga-whale season, fall polar-bear season and late-winter northern lights season continue to be booked at or near capacity, Churchill restaurants and hotels rely on independent travellers to fill the gaps between the seasons or even the hours between tour groups, said John Gunter, president and CEO of Winnipeg-based Frontiers North Adventures.

Gunter said Churchill can not prosper on tourism alone, as the high cost of shipping in all supplies by air or barge will eventually hobble the viability of the town's hospital and administrative complex.