Port of Churchill sale to group of First Nations will happen: chief

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This article was published 12/09/2016 (3700 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE PAS — The purchase of the Port of Churchill by a consortium of First Nations “will happen,” says Mathias Colomb First Nation Chief Arlen Dumas.

“We are about making a sound business decision and we are doing our due diligence — I can’t get into the specifics of it — but we are moving forward with the communities that we are partnering. This will happen,” Dumas said.

“We are in an arrangement and we are moving forward. We are still doing our due diligence, but it is going to happen. You just have to be patient.”

Omnitrax Canada began negotiating the deal to sell the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill to the consortium late last year. When the potential deal was announced in January both sides said they were confident the purchase of the port and railway would soon be complete.

However, no further announcement was made on the deal.

The future of the deal between Omnitrax Canada and the consortium of 10 northern Manitoba First Nations has been in flux since the Denver-based rail company announced in July it was shuttering the Port of Churchill and reducing freight service by half, to one train a week. The company has been silent on the future of the deal, however Dumas said he is “absolutely” continuing to talk with Omnitrax.

Dumas was in The Pas on Monday to meet with Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Cliff Cullen, along with municipal government officials to discuss the pending closure of Tolko Industries in The Pas. Mathias Colomb First Nation is about 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg and about 200 kilometres north of The Pas.

Dumas could not give a timeline as to how long it would take for the purchase of the port and railway to take place, but said it will require assistance from the federal and provincial government.

“We need to create a vehicle where our government partners realize that a proper investment will lead to real future growth and sustainability,” Dumas said.

kristin.annable@freepress.mb.ca