OTTAWA—The owners of a broken rail line in northern Manitoba that has cut off the subarctic town of Churchill served notice Tuesday that they plan to file a complaint against the federal government under the North American Free Trade Agreement. “As the private owner of the line, Omnitrax had the obligation to repair the rail line when it was damaged and it is irresponsible that they have not commenced repairs,” said a written statement from the office of Transport Minister Marc Garneau. Omnitrax has said it cannot afford the estimated $43 million to fix the rail line. The company has been in talks with a consortium of northern communities to transfer ownership of the rail line — a move that would require government aid. For now, Spence said the town is still dealing with the higher cost of flying in goods and people since the rail line was the only land link to the community.

Source: thestar November 14, 2017 21:45 UTC