Port of Churchill layoffs are ‘devastating to the community’ says town’s mayor

The community of Churchill, Man., is devastated after learning dozens of employees at the port will soon be out of a job.

At least 40 employees at the Port of Churchill were told Monday afternoon the grain shipping season will be shut down.

In the small town of 800 people, the Port of Churchill was the largest employer in town, employing approximately 10 per cent of the population during seasonal operations.

Mike Spence, the Mayor of Churchill, said more employees are waiting for notice to return back to work, making it around 80 to 90 people affected by the closure.

READ MORE: Port of Churchill lays off staff, shuts down shipping season

WATCH: Global News Morning talks with Churchill’s mayor about the closure

2:49 Mayor of Churchill says port layoffs are ‘devastating to the community’

“It is devastating to the community and employees,” Spence told Global News Tuesday morning.

“This came out of nowhere. It was a bumper crop this year. There is a lot of grain, it needs to get to market. This does not make sense to us at all,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This came out of nowhere. It was a bumper crop this year. There is a lot of grain, it needs to get to market. This does not make sense to us at all," he said.

Spence said officials from the town had an emergency meeting about the layoffs Monday afternoon. The town is looking to create other short-term job opportunities and reach out to the government for support.

“We need to reverse this situation. We called the provincial and federal government, we have to work to change this decision,” he added.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada represents unionized employees from the Port of Churchill and said employees, who were in the middle of negotiating a new collective agreement, were completely caught off-guard.

“Our concern is for the community as a whole,” said Marianne Hladun, Regional Executive Vice-President with the PSAC. “It’s not like there’s another employer in town that can absorb these  workers.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Our concern is for the community as a whole," said Marianne Hladun, Regional Executive Vice-President with the PSAC. "It's not like there's another employer in town that can absorb these  workers."

The union said with the recent closure of the Canadian Wheat Board the number of employees at the Port of Churchill has been declining and now with these latest layoffs they are concerned it could mean “the end for a struggling northern community.”

The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce said the layoffs are bad news for the port which has been struggling to keep up with other major competitors across the country.

“(We need) a long-term strategy that will try to eliminate closures like this,” said the Chamber’s Cory Kolt. “This product goes to the world. It showcases Manitoba, Manitoba farmers (and) the agriculture industry. When you look at closing off that port there’s other ports in this country that, over the last number of years, have taken the lead and have made the Port of Churchill, not obsolete, but very one sided.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "(We need) a long-term strategy that will try to eliminate closures like this," said the Chamber's Cory Kolt. "This product goes to the world. It showcases Manitoba, Manitoba farmers (and) the agriculture industry. When you look at closing off that port there's other ports in this country that, over the last number of years, have taken the lead and have made the Port of Churchill, not obsolete, but very one sided."

The Chamber said a solution needs to be found because the Port of Churchill is a critical part of Manitoba’s economy.

“When you look at it, it’s always seen as bottom up but it really works top down,” said Kolt. “The Port of Churchill, the community of Churchill, is so integral to Manitoba, not just from a tourism but from the ability to get product out.”

The Chamber is advocating for both OmniTrax and the Manitoba government to come together and look for innovative solutions and opportunities to not only collaborate but to diversify the products being shipped out.

“We’ve had so many issues shipping our grain east and west to port, and this was an excellent option. If ever there was a case for government intervention, this is it,” Keystone Agricultural Producers of Manitoba (KAP) president Dan Mazier said in a release.

“This is a major blow to us, especially when there appears to be an exceptionally large crop coming,” said Mazier.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This is a major blow to us, especially when there appears to be an exceptionally large crop coming," said Mazier.

Who owns the port?

The Port of Churchill is still owned by OmniTrax Canada, and roughly 120 people work there. The company has been looking for a buyer since last year, as the port hasn’t been generating the shipping profits it hoped.

In January, the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation had expressed interest in purchasing the port.

RELATED: Northern First Nations hope to buy Manitoba port and rail line

“This is a real surprise they are shutting down,” said Elden Boon, the vice-president of the Hudson Bay Route Association. “The biggest problem is there is grain destined for shipment through Churchill and we are not sure what will happen with that grain.”

Boon said the port is the largest employer in Churchill and it is too soon to tell what the layoffs will mean to the community.

The port has been operating in Manitoba’s north since it opened in 1931.

Calls to OmniTRAX were not returned.