Churchill, Man. residents poured into a town hall Tuesday to press Premier Wab Kinew on talks to turn their modest port into a global trade hub.
Dozens attended a town hall discussion hosted by Kinew Tuesday evening focused on the future of the community and the Port of Churchill Plus project. The project could include an all-weather road into the community, upgrades to the rail line, marine icebreaking and the creation of a liquefied natural gas trade corridor.
Residents like Khalee Palmer, who grew up in the remote community along Hudson Bay, is concerned about environmental impacts and says the town can’t support an influx of people brought in by the project.
“You can’t build a house of a place where there’s no foundation, and right now, Churchill is struggling with a lot of things with housing issues. We don’t have proper waste disposal management. We don’t have proper water treatment,” Palmer said.
The safety and sustainability of the area’s beluga population was another major concern echoed throughout the town hall.
The premier said he’s heard from community members that want to be kept in the loop about the project, which is why he hosted the town hall.
“I want to provide an assurance we’re not going to do the next round of investments or that big mega project in this region unless it works for people in this room and people in the community,” Kinew told the crowd.
Belugas and the environment were major contributing factors in Erin Greene’s decision to move to Churchill a decade ago.
She’s worried construction, ship movement and noise, and icebreakers will greatly impact the belugas that come to the region in the summer, resulting in detrimental effects to the tourism industry.
“Tourism has done a very good job at attracting people and putting Churchill on the map with our bears and our beluga whales,” she said.
Despite the province announcing funding for a feasibility study that will look at developing a marine conservation area, Greene believes the whales will still be impacted by the port project.
“I have a lot of concerns, because it’s not ‘will it impact the whales?’ It’s ‘how much is it going to impact the whales?’ And ‘how much are we willing to hurt their population?’” she said.
Kinew believes there can be a balance where the environment is protected at the same time the economy grows.
Environmental groups like Oceans North agree a balance can be achieved if there is care and consideration.
“What we do know is a modest, responsible port in Churchill and a thriving beluga population can coexist because we’ve got proof of that,” said Oceans North vice-president Christopher Debicki.
Debicki said the organization has always hoped for beluga habitat protection before any major industrial expansions.
