Marcy Markusa reflects on beauty of Churchill, challenges facing the North

What an unusual assignment for a woman who has an irrational fear of bears and icy roads.

"We're going to Churchill!" my producer said.

"Who is 'we'?" I asked.

My question was answered without words and just a tentative smile that only a man who has worked with me for 10 years could pull off.

"So I'm going to Churchill," I accepted.

"Yes. Yes you are," he said.

I am starting my blog with the honest truth because we got back from the North on Thursday and I can whole-heartedly say that after a whirlwind four days in Churchill and Thompson — with missing baggage and delayed airplanes, a huge blizzard and getting a touch lost on a gravel back road — I have a question for my producer, who ended up staying here in Winnipeg. 

Don't get me wrong, I will still wear a bear whistle, but I hope to return to Churchill. That desire has everything to do with the people, their spirit and their wonderful hospitality.

I feel very lucky that CBC understands the value of broadcasting their stories and hopefully bringing a little more understanding about northern Manitoba to those of us who live in the south.

'Why are you here?'

The first question Churchillians asked me was, "Why are you here now?"

I told everyone that we wanted to know about their community, their town, their neighbours and lives.

Quite frankly, most of us know about the bears in Churchill. I, however, didn't appreciate what it's like to live in a place that depends on tourism.

What it means, some Churchillians told us, is that everyone wants a piece of the natural beauty of their home. And boy, is their home beautiful.

From the port and the water to the bears, wolves and wildlife and the knockout sky show of the northern lights, it really is like an idyllic winter postcard.

Falling behind

The challenge is that as tourism grows and an increasing number of U.S. companies set up in Churchill, the actual "town" is falling behind.

For example, some tour operators fly in their guests for thousands of dollars to stay in hotels on the tundra, see the bears and not even see Churchill.

Local people acknowledged that these are private businesses and they aren't obligated to contribute to their town, but it gets increasingly hard to compete.

Now let me be clear: nobody was whining in Churchill. They were, however, worried.

They're worried because they are seeing a place without jobs for their kids, because a lot of tour guides are hired as seasonal workers from all over the world.

They're worried because some of the restaurants that used to be open year-round are having to close their doors for three months of the year.

More than a postcard

They're worried because they are not only reliant on tourism, but on a rail line that they don't control.

They’re worried because Churchill is not a postcard — it's their home.

I hope they figure out a way to diversify the industry in town. I hope they find a unique niche that they haven't dreamed of yet to bring more and more people to Churchill year-round. I hope their transportation woes improve and their local artists continue to make a living carving and painting and tufting art pieces out of caribou hair.

I hope the next time I go to Churchill, Gypsy's Cafe will still be there with its dedicated baker who was up all night to fill the case with pastries, including lemon fritters that he should patent.

I hope the shuttles will run back and forth to the airport, picking up shell-shocked Winnipeggers like me who wouldn't dream of driving in the blizzard conditions that the town had on Monday.

I hope people like dog musher Dave Daley will still walk around town in a sweatshirt when it's –43 C.

And I hope Irene at the seaport will always have extra parkas behind the desk for tourists who arrive from the other side of the world and thought they knew what cold really was.

Thank you to Tony who opened his restaurant early for our CBC broadcast, because he saw the value in it. And thank you to Churchill for being unstoppable.  

What a beautiful part of our province.