‘A very fixable problem’

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This article was published 16/10/2017 (2382 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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OTTAWA — A Saskatchewan-based operator says Churchill’s looming winter without a rail connection could have been avoided.

The comments came as Via Rail’s stranded train cars were loaded onto a ship docked at the northern Manitoba town Tuesday, while Ottawa and Hudson Bay Railway owner Omnitrax continue to exchange blame, 21 weeks after flooding knocked out the rail line.

“I’m actually a little bit surprised after it happened, that it wasn’t just simply fixed,” said Sheldon Affleck, head of Big Sky Rail Corp. “When we have washouts, we fix them.”

Transport Canada reached out to Affleck this summer, the Free Press has learned, to advise negotiators working to transfer the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill into local hands.

Big Sky runs a remote, 400-kilometre rail line that has endured washouts, bad soil and harsh winters. Unlike most companies, Affleck’s team repairs its lines instead of opting for contractors.

Affleck said May photos of washouts along the transportation link to Churchill show it sat on muddy ground, with rocks seemingly placed on top. He said the line instead needs lots of ballast rock, which is sharply cut stones that interlock and stay in place.

“In some ways, it’s a blessing to have it washed away, because now you need to fill it with proper material,” said Affleck.

His comments raise questions about how Denver-based Omnitrax spent the $20 million Ottawa and Manitoba each contributed in 2008 to maintain adequate service on the line.

Affleck said he tried in vain to get inspection reports from Transport Canada, to learn whether the agency took stock of the railbed’s condition.

He also reviewed both AECOM reports on fixing the line. He advised against following the Oct. 9 report, which was revealed Monday, that suggested Ottawa could have restored restricted service before winter freeze-up, at a cost of $5 million to $10 million.

“To me, it’s a very fixable problem, if you do it right. But if you try to take shortcuts and use substandard material that you’re replacing it with, I think there’ll be problems into the future,” said Affleck, adding he’d made such a mistake before. He also said the $43.5-million estimate to fully repair the line seems high.

Though Affleck has visited Churchill — located on the shore of Hudson Bay, some 1,600 km north of Winnipeg — and spoken with its mayor, he has no financial interest in HBR. He was not compensated for his advice.

“It’s easy to be an armchair quarterback,” said Affleck, stressing he doesn’t blame Omnitrax nor Ottawa for the state of the rail line.

Yet, both ramped up their criticism of each other Tuesday.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau said reports Monday that Omnitrax presented a last-minute offer to fix the line were “distractions” from the company’s failed obligations.

“These are not the issues that we are concerned about,” Garneau told reporters in Ottawa, saying his focus was on the people of Manitoba and Churchill.

Garneau declined to say whether Omnitrax was acting in bad faith, but said it could have fixed the line this summer. “Instead, they decided that they were going to cause distractions and stall.”

He wouldn’t speak to Omnitrax’s claims that Transport officials declined a June 16 invite to assess the line’s damage. The company named three Transport bureaucrats in Winnipeg it had invited: Todd Frederickson, Mark Conrad and Blair Raitt.

Transport Canada would not make any of the three available for an interview.

Garneau also clarified his Monday remarks that a 30-day ultimatum presented last Friday was for Omnitrax “to repair the line and to resume operations,” or be sued for $18.8 million for breaking a 2008 contract. Garneau had mistakenly told the Free Press the deadline was “for them to respond to the letter.”

On Tuesday, Keewatin Railway Company (a short-line operator based in The Pas) clarified remarks by Churchill Mayor Mike Spence, who claimed Omnitrax had denied a site visit to inspect the line and come up with a lower-cost repair plan.

KRC chief executive officer Tony Mayham said he put that request to Omnitrax through Frederickson, and never heard back.

Omnitrax said it never received such a request.

The finger-pointing continued Tuesday into the Red Chamber, as Manitoba senators asked why the rail line wasn’t fixed before the winter freeze. Energy Minister Jim Carr, the sole Manitoban in cabinet, was taking questions on the Senate floor.

Conservative Sen. Don Plett claimed the Liberals had “prevented” the line’s repair, and said it was “disingenuous” to blame Omnitrax after failing to support an earlier takeover bid. In a scathing tone, he alleged the government had “no intention” to fix the line, and instead wanted “to make Churchill a fly-in community all along.”

Carr again placed the blame on Omnitrax.

“Our intentions are to serve northern Manitoba with an effective transport system, with partners where we can find them,” he said.

Sen. Patricia Bovey asked Carr about the future of the town, and Carr replied food subsidies and fuel have been put in place. Carr said Churchill’s longer-term future involves an Arctic strategy that recognizes the port can be open longer due to climate change. He’s expected to give more details on a looming visit to the town.

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas, who leads one of the two groups that joined forces seeking ownership of the HBR, is holding a press conference this morning. He hinted it wouldn’t be cordial.

“Regardless of our best efforts, it seems that our allies are working against us, when they need to be working with us,” Dumas said.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca