Shipping goods to Manitoba’s north has never been cheap, and the closure of Churchill’s rail line has brought that to the forefront.

With the projected cost to repair the Omnitrax rail line at $60 million, University of Manitoba Supply Chain Management professor Barry Prentice believes airships are a more cost-effective and sustainable way to get resources there to the northern community.

Though the industry isn’t up and running yet, and would likely cost more than $60 million initially to set up, Prentice sees airships as a way to bring down costs in northern communities like Churchill, and provide those resources in a more reliable way than a train track that is threatened by changing climates.

“With funding, we could have airships flying in three years,” Prentice said. “Airships could do for the north what the railway did for the prairies.”

Airship transportation would sink the current flying costs of food in the north by anywhere from 25 to 60 percent compared to ice road shipping, Prentice claims. And they would be more reliable too.

“The current means of transportation are essentially ice roads and little airplanes carrying one ton or less,” Prentice said. “And the ice roads are becoming much less reliable as the season is shortening.”

Compared to all-season roads, airships would be more economic, as a single-lane gravel road in Manitoba’s northern terrain costs about $3 million per kilometre to build.

But Prentice sees airships as something to complement other shipping methods, not as an alternative to them.

“I don’t think we would fly the airships all the way from Winnipeg to a remote community. We could truck to Thompson and other areas, and then you’d transfer to an airship and go further north.”

Even despite the cost, Prentice still believes a community like Churchill should have land access, but by road instead of train to create more traffic to the community for tourism as well as resources.

“The problem is we’re not talking small dollars,” Prentice said. “But in the meantime, the airship could serve the area. And if there’s eventually a road built, the airship can go other places.”

For Prentice, Manitoba is the ideal place, and the time is now.

“If an idea exists and there’s a serious need, the governments have a responsibility to find out if it’s viable,” Prentice said. “Why should we let the people in the north suffer for years until someone takes the risk to build an airship? The government should be the ones driving it.”

jfriesen@postmedia.com

Quick fix for Churchill dogs may not be helping community long-term

The closure of the Churchill rail line has some concerned about the well-being of more than just the people who live in the northern community.

Gerald and Jenafor Azure own Bluesky Expeditions, a dog sled business in Churchill, and are concerned about the dogs in the community as well. Supplies are being sent up to the town and the Azures know it is being done with good intentions, but they fear that the short-term fix of handing out resources to people will promote them to have more dogs, creating a long-term problem where dog owners can’t afford their pets.

“It’s really important that nobody starves, including the dogs,” Jenafor said. “But if you continue to make it easy for these people to have litter after litter of puppies, are we creating a bigger problem by making things easy for people who perhaps shouldn’t have dogs?”

The Azures acknowledge that spay and neuter services are also important in preventing dogs from being treated inhumanely because there aren’t enough resources for them.

The Azures have 32 dogs with their business, and say it is tough to maintain that at the best of times, let alone when the only ground access is closed. But despite the cost, the Azures try to continue to run their business up to their standards, which means living with as many dogs as is viable for them, and not accepting free food because of how it might affect the community down the road.

“We’re trying to set a good example by looking after our dogs properly and doing all the right things,” Gerald said. “We just want better care for the animals. I thought setting a good example would help people understand that if you treat your dogs right and get a good product going, people will come. But it’s not happening.”

-- Friesen