WINNIPEG, MB – Canada’s Arctic region offers significant potential as a gateway for international trade and sustainable prosperity so long as the Port of Churchill remains viable. That will be the central theme of a round table discussion held at The University of Winnipeg today – the first of a series of round tables organized by the Northern Sustainable Prosperity Initiative (NSPI) that builds on the outcomes of the Arctic Gateway Summit co-hosted by Uwinnipeg and the Province of Manitoba in November 2010.
Recommendations from today’s round table are intended to inform the federal-provincial Task Force on the Future of Churchill which is now considering options for the Port following the federal government’s decision to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly of the wheat industry. Participants in the round table, which includes representatives from transportation and trade sectors, along with community and Indigneous representatives, will gather to discuss a stronger role for Churchill as the key hub of an Arctic Gateway.
“Churchill has the potential to be an international trade and transportation gateway of national significance,” said UWinnipeg President and Vice Chancellor Dr. Lloyd Axworthy who will chair the round table. “For that to happen though, governments, communities and the private sector must come together to invest in the Port’s future as both a regional and international Arctic distribution centre. This includes investing in critical infrastructure such as upgrading the Hudson’s Bay Railway, and by encouraging businesses to use the Port for shipping to Nunavut and other international markets. Without this, Manitoba and Canada as a whole stands to lose out on a tremendous opportunity for sustainable prosperity in northern and Arctic regions.”
Axworthy added that northern communities and Indigenous peoples must be directly involved and engaged in shaping the future of both the Port and an Arctic Gateway..
This round table will be one of a series series of workshops that will be held over the next year that will help to inform the development of a long-term Northern Sustainable Prosperity plan for Manitoba.
“Other provinces are moving ahead aggressively with northern development plans that recognize the growing importance of northern and Arctic regions to Canada’s economic future,” said Terry Duguid, Director of the UWinnipeg Northern Sustainable Prosperity Initiative. “Manitoba is moving forward with its own strategy that will recognize the central role of Churchill as well as all of the positive assets our province has to offer. The UWinnipeg wishes to support this important effort to build sustainable prosperity in the North.”
Duguid added that the initiative is taking advantage of UWinnipeg’s significant teaching and research expertise in a variety of related areas including indigenous governance, development practice, emerging international markets, Arctic security, environmental management and sustainable communities
MEDIA CONTACT
Naniece Ibrahim, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7130, E: n.ibrahim@uwinnipeg.ca
Jeff Kovalik-Plouffe, Coordinator, Northern Sustainable Prosperity Initiative
The University of Winnipeg, P: 204.955.5022, E: je.kovalik-plouffe@uwinnipeg.ca
