Mathias Colomb Cree Nation leads effort to buy Port of Churchill, railway
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/01/2016 (3524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WINNIPEG — Mathias Colomb Cree Nation has emerged as the leader of an effort by a group of northern Manitoba First Nations to purchase the Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay Railway.
It was disclosed Friday that Mathias Colomb Chief Arlen Dumas has sent an offer to purchase to Omnitrax Canada. Other First Nations are said to be part of the action and Dumas is looking for others to join the consortium.
“Our First Nation is proud to have taken on the leadership role in this endeavour and we are very excited to build a strong entity to independently own and operate these assets,” Dumas said in a statement.
Omnitrax Canada president and former Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Merv Tweed said the purchase proceedings are going well.
“I see this as a real positive step forward and things are continuing to move,” Tweed said. “We are working with the chief who represents a group of First Nations. It is moving very quickly and I suspect news will be coming out shortly.”
Omnitrax announced a month ago that it wanted out of the northern route that the Denver-based company has owned and operated since 1997.
A sharp drop-off in grain shipments from the port this year and long-standing inability to attract a more diversified assortment of cargo has stymied any Omnitrax’s efforts to create a more successful commercial operation.
The possibility of a First Nations buying group coming forward was thought by many to be a hopeful scenario.
Several First Nations in northern Manitoba rely on the rail line as its only ground transportation option.
The assets “are a lifeline to many people and essential to our northern region,” said Sheila North Wilson, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak.
» Winnipeg Free Press