Manitoba mulls sending propane storage to cut-off community of Churchill

The Manitoba government may ship propane-storage containers to the cut-off community of Churchill to help address a situation Premier Brian Pallister calls "urgent," but wouldn't go so far as to describe as an emergency.

But Churchill Mayor Mike Spence argues that's just what it is, and he wants the federal and provincial governments to speed up help for the community.

"It is an emergency," Spence told CBC by phone from Churchill.

"We're living this and it's too bad they don't understand the situation that we're under here."

CBC asked the Manitoba premier if the situation in Churchill was an emergency Thursday.

"It's being addressed. I think the idea that we're following is to approach it as something that's urgent, important and address it as best and effectively as we can, and we are working with the community," Pallister responded.

Churchill has been without a rail line since May 23, when flooding halted rail service to the community.

The province said Thursday it has already sent government staffers by air to photograph the damage. It said the damage those photographs revealed was consistent with that shown in images Omnitrax has released publicly.

The province also said Manitoba Hydro is looking at switching some of the community's power to electricity for winter to make up for a lack of space for propane, said Lee Spencer, the assistant deputy minister responsible for emergency management and public safety.

But Manitoba Hydro downplayed that claim. Spokesperson Bruce Owen said the utility "has had several customer questions" from Churchill about switching from propane heating to electric heating.

"We are providing information to these customers on the conversion process and what new furnace equipment would be required, and cost. At this point, it's very much a discussion with customers," he said.

Many homes in the community, located about 1,000 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg on the shore of Hudson Bay, use propane for heat well into the spring. On Thursday afternoon, the temperature in Churchill was just 5 C, with overnight temperatures forecast as low as 3 C, according to Environment Canada.

Waiting for Omnitrax: province

The province said it's still waiting for a response from Omnitrax to a recent request it sent to the company for information, and wants clarification from the Denver-based company on the challenges and repairs facing the rail line.

A communications chill between both the provincial and federal governments and track and Churchill port owner Omnitrax seems to have thawed slightly, as Manitoba officials are in direct contact with staff at the company.

Nevertheless, Pallister acknowledged some of the questions his government has for the company are pointed — specifically, what the company is doing to get started on repairs to the damaged tracks.

"We've expressed some questions to Omnitrax in terms of the time frame on assessment because we do think it is important to get out there and have a look at what's necessary to restore rail access as soon as we can," Pallister said.

Last year, when Omnitrax shuttered the Port of Churchill, the premier was blunt in his assessment of the company's behaviour, characterizing it as an effort to acquire another deal and saying "I don't respond, ever, to threats."

The company says it's started an assessment of the rail line between Gillam and Churchill and is investigating breaks in the line and sections that were flooded, which it says caused severe damage to the line.

Omnitrax said it doesn't expect to have any substantive updates to share with the public until that assessment is done.

The company said last Friday the assessment, and a report on its findings, will take a total of six weeks.

'There are obligations to restore service'

While the Manitoba premier is more diplomatic now than he was last year, he still put on record some of his government's expectations.

"I want to make sure we are doing everything we can to evaluate honestly what's necessary to fix this situation and you can't do that from a helicopter or an airplane," he said.

"So we need to get some understanding from Omnitrax [about] how they are going to pursue the assessment. They own the line. There are obligations to restore service expeditiously and we want to make sure that work is undertaken."