[DrCaleb]

Robair Robair:

WTF does that post have to do with this topic?


This isn't Trudeau's mess.

Brah can only speak in Anti-Trudeau Memes.

[fifeboy]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Robair Robair:

WTF does that post have to do with this topic?


This isn't Trudeau's mess.

Brah can only speak in Anti-Trudeau Memes.

But... but... but... he gave Western Farmers the finger... from a train..coulda been a grain train... coulda...

[BeaverFever]

Somewhat related story in the news recently:

$1:

Emergency food drive for Churchill, Man., as prices rise 'out of control' in isolated town

It’s been nine months since Churchill, Man., has received goods on a consistent basis due to damaged railway tracks and now people in other parts of Manitoba are stepping up to help out the northern town.

Over the weekend, several organizations, including the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Alumni, organized an emergency food bank to help out the town.

In May 2017, the railway tracks leading to Churchill--the only year-round ground transportation to and from the town--were severely damaged due to flooding in the area. The tracks have still not been repaired. There is only a temporary ice road.

“It’s scary still for people to figure out what their future plans are going to be,” Joe Stover, a Churchill resident, told CTV Winnipeg. “Are they going to be able to hold out and wait until this rail line is back or are they going to have to move away?”

The lack of food in the area has caused grocery prices to spike. A pack of processed cheese can run nearly $18, basic salad dressing can cost more than $6 and a four-litre jug of milk is about $14. Gas in the area has gone down to about $1.70 per litre following a recent fuel subsidy.

“It’s silliness. It’s nonsensical,” Stover said.

The food bank was able to fill an 18-wheeler truck with goods to head north on the second week of March--roughly when the Christmas donations in Churchill are expected to run out.

Food supply isn’t the only thing that’s been impacted by the out-of-commission rail line. The community has also been hit financially.

“All the tourists that used to take the train from Thompson up there, the closure of the port, the unemployment right now and the cost of food has gotten so far out of control,” said Mike Hameluck, a member of the Blue Bombers alumni.

Last November, the federal government filed a lawsuit against Denver-based OmniTRAX, the owners of the rail line, in an effort to get it repaired. The case is expected to be heard in court this week to decide if there will be a trial.

In a statement to CTV Winnipeg, OmniTRAX says the “claims are without merit.”

“This lawsuit does nothing to help facilitate a constructive solution for Churchill,” OmniTRAX spokesperson Merv Tweed said in the statement. “OmniTRAX Canada continues to work aggressively to arrive at a resolution that will allow for repairs to begin as soon as possible after the spring thaw.”

With a report from CTV Winnipeg’s Beth Macdonell

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada/em ... -1.3818261

And:

$1:

Omnitrax not solely to blame

Ian Robson
January 11, 2018

A federal government decision to allow the sale of the railway that serves the Port of Churchill and then a later decision to eliminate the Canadian Wheat Board’s marketing monopoly are blamed for the sad state of the rail line. | File photo

For more than 100 years, the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay was the gateway to northern Manitoba and communities in Nunavut.

Served by 820 kilometres of railway line from The Pas, Man., it shipped western grain to European markets until the port was stranded, then closed and the hundreds of remote northern communities along the rail line were left isolated as the port and railway’s private owner, Omnitrax, failed to repair the tracks after flooding in early 2016.

Despite the strategic importance of Churchill, North America’s only Arctic deep-water port, the rail line from The Pas was never easy to operate. However, the severe problems stem from two catastrophic blunders made by past Canadian governments.

Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s government allowed Canadian National Railway, a Class 1 railway, to sell the Churchill line to Omnitrax in 1997 without requiring the new owner to uphold the statutory obligation to move loaded cars to their destination in a timely fashion.

At the same time, the government upgraded Churchill’s port facilities, and then gave them to Omnitrax.

The second blow to Churchill occurred when Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper dismantled the farmer-elected board of Canadian Wheat Board in 2011 and ended its single desk selling authority.

Under the CWB’s single desk selling and aggregation advantage, all four ports — Churchill, Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Thunder Bay — were used strategically. Grain grown in the Hudson Bay route catch basin was predominantly marketed through the Port of Churchill by the CWB. This lowered handling and transportation costs and alleviated congestion to the West Coast.

Anticipating Churchill would be in trouble without the CWB’s marketing powers, the Harper government threw private grain companies up to $25 million with a five-year, $9.20 per tonne freight subsidy to help Omnitrax and camouflage the fallout from destroying the CWB. Once the subsidy ended, grain companies quit using Churchill.

The dominos have fallen: the tracks need two decades worth of proper maintenance, farmers are paying higher freight rates, other routes are more congested, there are more greenhouse gas emissions, Churchill is suffering economic losses, and northern communities are cut off from essential services. Dominos will continue to fall as private grain companies avoid Thunder Bay, the next-most-expensive shipping route, further congesting the over-used west coast corridor.

Canada has lost a third of its railway track miles in the last three decades. Rail line abandonment has increased profitability for CN and Canadian Pacific Railway, but their gains should not be seen as an increase in overall efficiency. Farmers pick up the costs by having to truck farther to main line terminals, with triple the greenhouse gas emissions per mile compared with rail transport.


In the 1880s, the public gave private railway companies millions of acres of land, including the mineral rights, in return for agreeing to move freight at regulated rates. CN and CP have become very profitable businesses as a result.

Thus, abandonment of railway lines cannot be simply a rail company’s decision without the public being compensated. Governments have been far too lax in upholding the public interest in this matter. It is time they sharpened the pencil.

As for Churchill, the solution lies not in suing Omnitrax, but in working with northern Manitoba First Nations and nationalizing both the line and the port facilities to restore the Port of Churchill. Climate change will likely make it an even more strategic and commercially attractive port and, and an active port will revitalize the town.

Ian Robson farms grain and cattle with his family at Deleau, Man. He is on the National Farmers Union board of directors.

https://www.producer.com/2018/01/omnitr ... ely-blame/

[Robair]

Harper's legacy in Western Canada.

[CharlesAnthony]

From the article:

$1:

The federation is urging the Senate to pass Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, as soon as possible.

From the Bill:

$1:

It amends the definition of Canadian in that Act in order to raise the threshold of voting interests in an air carrier that may be owned and controlled by non-Canadians while retaining its Canadian status, while also establishing specific limits related to such interests.

--

Keep your eyes on the right hand! Do not pay attention to the left hand!

[bootlegga]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

Somewhat related story in the news recently:

$1:

Emergency food drive for Churchill, Man., as prices rise 'out of control' in isolated town

It’s been nine months since Churchill, Man., has received goods on a consistent basis due to damaged railway tracks and now people in other parts of Manitoba are stepping up to help out the northern town.

Over the weekend, several organizations, including the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Alumni, organized an emergency food bank to help out the town.

In May 2017, the railway tracks leading to Churchill--the only year-round ground transportation to and from the town--were severely damaged due to flooding in the area. The tracks have still not been repaired. There is only a temporary ice road.

“It’s scary still for people to figure out what their future plans are going to be,” Joe Stover, a Churchill resident, told CTV Winnipeg. “Are they going to be able to hold out and wait until this rail line is back or are they going to have to move away?”

The lack of food in the area has caused grocery prices to spike. A pack of processed cheese can run nearly $18, basic salad dressing can cost more than $6 and a four-litre jug of milk is about $14. Gas in the area has gone down to about $1.70 per litre following a recent fuel subsidy.

“It’s silliness. It’s nonsensical,” Stover said.

The food bank was able to fill an 18-wheeler truck with goods to head north on the second week of March--roughly when the Christmas donations in Churchill are expected to run out.

Food supply isn’t the only thing that’s been impacted by the out-of-commission rail line. The community has also been hit financially.

“All the tourists that used to take the train from Thompson up there, the closure of the port, the unemployment right now and the cost of food has gotten so far out of control,” said Mike Hameluck, a member of the Blue Bombers alumni.

Last November, the federal government filed a lawsuit against Denver-based OmniTRAX, the owners of the rail line, in an effort to get it repaired. The case is expected to be heard in court this week to decide if there will be a trial.

In a statement to CTV Winnipeg, OmniTRAX says the “claims are without merit.”

“This lawsuit does nothing to help facilitate a constructive solution for Churchill,” OmniTRAX spokesperson Merv Tweed said in the statement. “OmniTRAX Canada continues to work aggressively to arrive at a resolution that will allow for repairs to begin as soon as possible after the spring thaw.”

With a report from CTV Winnipeg’s Beth Macdonell

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada/em ... -1.3818261

And:

$1:

Omnitrax not solely to blame

Ian Robson
January 11, 2018

A federal government decision to allow the sale of the railway that serves the Port of Churchill and then a later decision to eliminate the Canadian Wheat Board’s marketing monopoly are blamed for the sad state of the rail line. | File photo

For more than 100 years, the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay was the gateway to northern Manitoba and communities in Nunavut.

Served by 820 kilometres of railway line from The Pas, Man., it shipped western grain to European markets until the port was stranded, then closed and the hundreds of remote northern communities along the rail line were left isolated as the port and railway’s private owner, Omnitrax, failed to repair the tracks after flooding in early 2016.

Despite the strategic importance of Churchill, North America’s only Arctic deep-water port, the rail line from The Pas was never easy to operate. However, the severe problems stem from two catastrophic blunders made by past Canadian governments.

Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s government allowed Canadian National Railway, a Class 1 railway, to sell the Churchill line to Omnitrax in 1997 without requiring the new owner to uphold the statutory obligation to move loaded cars to their destination in a timely fashion.

At the same time, the government upgraded Churchill’s port facilities, and then gave them to Omnitrax.

The second blow to Churchill occurred when Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper dismantled the farmer-elected board of Canadian Wheat Board in 2011 and ended its single desk selling authority.

Under the CWB’s single desk selling and aggregation advantage, all four ports — Churchill, Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Thunder Bay — were used strategically. Grain grown in the Hudson Bay route catch basin was predominantly marketed through the Port of Churchill by the CWB. This lowered handling and transportation costs and alleviated congestion to the West Coast.

Anticipating Churchill would be in trouble without the CWB’s marketing powers, the Harper government threw private grain companies up to $25 million with a five-year, $9.20 per tonne freight subsidy to help Omnitrax and camouflage the fallout from destroying the CWB. Once the subsidy ended, grain companies quit using Churchill.

The dominos have fallen: the tracks need two decades worth of proper maintenance, farmers are paying higher freight rates, other routes are more congested, there are more greenhouse gas emissions, Churchill is suffering economic losses, and northern communities are cut off from essential services. Dominos will continue to fall as private grain companies avoid Thunder Bay, the next-most-expensive shipping route, further congesting the over-used west coast corridor.

Canada has lost a third of its railway track miles in the last three decades. Rail line abandonment has increased profitability for CN and Canadian Pacific Railway, but their gains should not be seen as an increase in overall efficiency. Farmers pick up the costs by having to truck farther to main line terminals, with triple the greenhouse gas emissions per mile compared with rail transport.


In the 1880s, the public gave private railway companies millions of acres of land, including the mineral rights, in return for agreeing to move freight at regulated rates. CN and CP have become very profitable businesses as a result.

Thus, abandonment of railway lines cannot be simply a rail company’s decision without the public being compensated. Governments have been far too lax in upholding the public interest in this matter. It is time they sharpened the pencil.

As for Churchill, the solution lies not in suing Omnitrax, but in working with northern Manitoba First Nations and nationalizing both the line and the port facilities to restore the Port of Churchill. Climate change will likely make it an even more strategic and commercially attractive port and, and an active port will revitalize the town.

Ian Robson farms grain and cattle with his family at Deleau, Man. He is on the National Farmers Union board of directors.

https://www.producer.com/2018/01/omnitr ... ely-blame/

Interesting read, thanks!

[CharlesAnthony]

bootlegga bootlegga:

Interesting read, thanks!

LOL
It needed to be repeated!

---

"Thou shalt maintain thy gaze upon the right hand while the left hand robs you!"