Federal regulator will probe Omnitrax

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This article was published 16/08/2017 (2443 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The federal transport regulator is probing whether Omnitrax has broken the law by abandoning service along the railway to Churchill for 12 weeks, after Free Press readers complained to the agency.

The Canadian Transportation Agency said on Thursday it’s assigned a designated enforcement officer to investigate a dozen complaints.

“To date, 12 people have gotten in touch with the CTA regarding the lack of service on the Hudson Bay Railway line,” wrote spokesman Tim Hillier.

That’s little comfort to Susan Prentice, one of at least three Free Press readers who say they’ve complained to the CTA but haven’t heard anything in the past week.

“I’m a citizen of Manitoba, and I know that Churchill plays a very important role in our province,” said Prentice, who lives in Winnipeg. “The economic future of Churchill is interdependent on the success of the rail line.”

On July 18, Omnitrax said it wouldn’t pay an estimated $20 million to $60 million to repair flooding damage along the line because it was “not economically viable.” The federal government has since insisted Omnitrax is obliged under a 2008 funding contract to keep the rail line running.

Earlier this month, transportation lawyers told the Free Press Omnitrax could be legally compelled to restore service to Churchill under federal laws that prohibit companies from abandoning train lines, regardless of what contracts they enter.

The CTA prescribes “reasonable” time limits to repair from catastrophic damage, after which companies can be fined for not keeping the line running. In February, the regulator ruled that “a railway company cannot permanently relieve itself of its statutory obligations by indirect means by deciding not to rehabilitate a railway line.”

The regulator said it takes 20 to 85 business days to probe a dispute, with cases categorized on a scale of four processes depending on how compliant the company seems.

But the CTA then told the Free Press it can’t open investigations until citizens or businesses file complaints.

“I thought that was bureaucratic irrationality at its height,” said Prentice. “I cannot see how any investigation will fail to find that Omnitrax has broken the terms of [the law.]”

She blames the 12-week debacle on Ottawa selling the railway to a private company in 1997 and says it’s time the government takes it over from private hands.

Prentice says Omnitrax only answers to shareholders, while federal and provincial finger-pointing shows “a failure of political will” at both levels.

Premier Brian Pallister was asked Thursday whether he was growing impatient with the lack of progress in restoring rail service to the northern port.

“We’ve communicated our impatience at various levels and we’ll continue to do so,” he said.

Pallister said he recognizes that the federal government has “a challenge” in dealing with Omnitrax.

The company received a more precise damage-cost estimate on Aug. 4 through an AECOM Canada engineering assessment. The company said it’s presenting the report to Transport Canada next week, but won’t say when it will publicly release more information.

“We have encouraged them to pursue progress on this file in numerous ways,” Pallister said.

While Ottawa has offered food subsidies to the northern community and helped out with tourism issues, it could be doing more, the premier said.

“The ball is, to some degree, in the federal government’s court. And again I would reiterate it’s really important that we understand what the federal government’s intentions are as to the port.”

Prentice, a sociology professor at the University of Manitoba, says that illustrates the problem.

“This is a situation that as sociologists, we explain as a diffusion of responsibilities.”

— With files from Larry Kusch

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca