Winnipeg Harvest sends care package to Churchill

A care package is on its way to Churchill to help those who are most in need after the closure of the only rail line into the northern Manitoba town.

Frozen meat and diapers fill the package being sent by Winnipeg Harvest, the city's largest food bank.

The package is being taken north by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities and the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce on their visit to the community, about 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg, on Tuesday.

"One of the issues they are dealing with is their local food bank and being able to bring food up there and help those that are in need in the community," said Chuck Davidson, president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.

• Omnitrax says it can't pay up to $60 million to repair rail line to Churchill
• Omnitrax must repair Churchill rail line: Justin Trudeau

Multiple blizzards followed by severe spring flooding washed out the line in May, making it difficult to get supplies into the subarctic community of 900 on the western shore of Hudson Bay, which has no road connection to the south.

Without the rail line, goods and people have to be flown to Churchill at a much higher cost.

Churchill's main retailer, the North West Company, stopped subsidizing grocery prices to cover the increased cost of shipping by air in June.

That same month, the federal government extended its Nutrition North food subsidy program to Churchill until the rail line is restored. Nutrition North is normally offered to fly-in communities and is aimed at offsetting a portion of the extra costs of shipping food by air.

• Churchill's main retailer to stop subsidizing food prices on June 25
• Federal food subsidy extended to Churchill following rail line loss

Davidson said members of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities and the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce are going north to speak with business owners about the challenges they are facing and hopefully find some solutions.

With the trip already scheduled, Davidson said they thought they should take much-needed supplies.

"The challenge with having no rail line and everything having to come up by air, costs are about five times what they normally would be," he said.

"So that makes it difficult to bring up things like hampers at this time and any kind of food supplies."

With questions of cost and responsibility being debated, it isn't known when the rail line will be restored.

Denver-based Omnitrax has said it won't pay to repair the tracks and asked the federal and provincial governments for help. It estimates the cost of the repairs at $20 million to $60 million.

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Winnipeg on the weekend, he said Omnitrax has legal obligations to clean up and repair the tracks.

"This is a responsibility that is squarely on the shoulders of Omnitrax," he said.

After a meeting with Trudeau on Saturday, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said the provincial and federal governments didn't find a solution that will ensure the rail line is fixed promptly.