JENA MCGREGOR
The Vancouver Sun

LinkedIn has long been a way to promote your resume to other companies or recruiters without hanging out a “for hire” sign that your boss can see. Now it’s launching a way to let recruiters know you’re open to considering other jobs — and do so privately, the company says.

On Thursday, the professional social network announced a new feature it has been testing called Open Candidates, which allows users to flip a switch under the “preferences” tab that tells recruiters they’re open to job opportunities. Recruiters who pay for LinkedIn’s premium service will then see a tab in its search results that lists profiles of those who have turned on the signal, connecting them with what LinkedIn calls “warm” talent. Others won’t be able to see if a user has turned on the feature, and LinkedIn hides the signal from recruiters at an individual’s own company or its subsidiaries.

The move is an interesting one for LinkedIn, which grew into a giant in the recruiting world because of the access it gave recruiters to millions of desirable “passive candidates” who are not actively job hunting. Some 87 per cent of recruiters say they use LinkedIn, which Microsoft said in June it would acquire, to evaluate candidates during the hiring process, more than twice that of any other social network, according to a survey by Jobvite.

Now even if they’re “passive,” LinkedIn users will be able to signal a little more active interest in considering opportunities, helping recruiters more accurately target the huge number of employed candidates who might be open to making a move. Estimates from the consulting firm CEB say that about 40 per cent of the labour market is made up of people who don’t want to be contacted by recruiters at all, while another 35 per cent are not looking but are open to contact.

“It should theoretically make it more effective and efficient for recruiters,” said Brian Kropp, CEB’s human resources practice leader.

It could also cut down on the deluge of inquiries some users, especially those in high-demand industries, receive from recruiters, which turns some people off, Kropp said, pushing them to more specialized forums, such as GitHub for software professionals. “Candidates are bombarded by so many recruiters that they’re not responding to anything,” he says.

(A spokesperson says users can block messages from recruiters if they wish.)

Meanwhile, a crop of startups has begun helping people, particularly in tech jobs, covertly scan for opportunities.

Switch, for instance, is an anonymous Tinder-like tool that lets users rate job opportunities by swiping right or left, while Anthology, formerly known as Poachable, acts as an anonymous career matchmaker. A LinkedIn spokesperson said the new feature was not a response, but a way to “improve the experience.”

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

Vij and Dhalwala?s latest cookbook deals frankly with couple?s amicable split

MIA STAINSBY
The Vancouver Sun

Guests at Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala’s restaurants only felt the love, what with front-of-house man Vij embodying the verb “to welcome” at both Vij’s in Vancouver and My Shanti in Surrey.

But about five years ago, the couple’s private life went south and their relationship became a grenade threatening to blow them apart.

They’d spent 17 years entwined at home and at work. “We were unravelling because we were sick of being in one another’s personal and professional space all the time. We both knew we sincerely loved each other. It wasn’t about love. We were just driving each other bananas,” says Dhalwala. “Suddenly, there was hardly any making up and new arguments were layered on top of old, unresolved ones. We’d become different people with different interests, life expectations, and were unaccepting of the other.

“I had small-scale ideas whereas Vikram goes very big on everything (including borrowing $5 million to start up a food-production facility). He’s a hardworking idealist. I came from a middle-class family that experienced bankruptcy and three months of not having a home.”

A long while back, they decided Vij would be the face and the brand of the restaurants and Dhalwala would helm the kitchen because both areas were equally important.

Conjoined in business, they couldn’t separate quite like other couples. They are open and honest about those tumultuous years in their new cookbook, Vij’s Indian: Our Stories, Spices and Cherished Recipes. It’s the latest chapter of their lives through a cookbook lens.

“The first cookbook was about our meeting and moving here and the beginning of the restaurant and the second was about its progress,” says Dhalwala. “The third is 20 years later, where we are today, and it blurs the line between work and home.”

Cooking family dinner was their armistice. “We cooked dinner separately and together,” she says. “It was the precious line both Vikram and I knew never to cross. Cooking transforms us from whatever storm we’re in the middle of back to calm security. It is the one thing we did not fail at.”

They didn’t consciously uncouple, like Gwyneth and Chris, but in the end they reached an amicable separation. “We’ve maintained a love and friendship. We have 100 employees and our livelihood and careers depend on it,” says Dhalwala. They’re now living separately but still do family meals together once a week.

“Sunday night dinners for us is so precious,” says Dhalwala. “We take it very seriously. And we say when we have our new permanent partners, it has to be part of those relationships, too.”

Although they are partners in all their businesses, Dhalwala is responsible for food at Vij’s and Rangoli, and Vij for My Shanti and Vij’s at Home frozen foods. “We’re business partners and friends now. It confuses people,” says Dhalwala. “We have maintained our love and friendship. We had an amazing 15 years full of love, excitement and passion and that’s what got us through.”

The recipes in the book are from their lives, she says. “If I don’t have my stories, I don’t enjoy the cooking. The cauliflower and potato curry is a really fast dish. My mother had a stroke, and is now completely deaf, mute and has aphasia. The one thing she can do is cook, and she cooks that dish.”

Others are dishes they’d cook for daughters Nanaki and Shanik and their friends (Oven-baked Chicken with Chard and Red Radishes) or their own friends (Pani Pur with Shrimp Ceviche) or a favourite staff meal at Rangoli (Indian Japanese Chicken Vegetable Soba Noodle Curry), along with dishes that arose out of conversation.

Beet Bites resulted when they talked about who they’d rather be eating with one evening. Dhalwala chose Jonsi, lead singer for the Icelandic band Sigur Ros. She made the dish in his honour and the family had to eat it while listening to Sigur Ros playing loudly.

Dhalwala’s other passion is the ecological state of the world and she sometimes wrestles with the cost of operating a sustainably run restaurant. “I’m always trying to figure it out and that’s why I support the UBC Farm so much.”

She once had cricket flour parathas on the menu, gently introducing people to eating insects (they’re renewable and sustainable and much of the world already does) but they weren’t a popular item.

She’s not giving up on changing attitudes. She is researching black-soldier-fly-larvae as food. She’s eaten them and likes the taste, and a local producer is trying to get Canadian Food Inspection Agency approval, she says. “I’ve done so much research on insects (as a source of food) and I’m ready to sign myself up.”

And if that’s too much of a leap for you, you can try Vij’s Monarch Butterfly dish. It’s a vegetarian dish named for the colours of the beautiful species, in danger of becoming extinct. It’s her kind of environmentalism. Always delicious.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

other

Canadian employment increased by 67,000 jobs in September, the largest single month gain since 2012. However, 50,000 of those job gains were from those reporting self-employment while public and private sector employment accounted for just 17,000 new jobs.  The national unemployment rate was unchanged at 7 per cent and total hours worked, which is highly correlated with economic growth, edged up 0.2 per cent compared to this time last year. 

In BC, employment was essentially unchanged for a second consecutive month. Although up slightly in September, the provincial unemployment rate remained the lowest in the country at 5.7 per cent and provincial job growth year-to-date is the strongest in the country at 3.2 per cent.

In the US, the last job figures before election day showed an increase of 156,000 jobs while the national unemployment rate rose to 5 per cent. Over the past six months, US job growth rose an average of 192,000 jobs per month. 

Copyright ©2016 BCREA

ROB SHAW
The Vancouver Sun

The world’s most famous royal children enjoyed a lively party in Victoria on Thursday, complete with a petting zoo, bubble machines and balloon animals shared by local entertainers and military families.

Prince George, 3, and Princess Charlotte, 1, joined 24 local children for the party on the garden grounds of Government House. It was an opportunity for their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, to have a playful family moment during a hectic Canadian tour, and relax among other parents for an hour.

Kathryn Ward, 2, made a beeline for the bubbles when she arrived, as her mother Jeannie and father Master Cpl. Chris Ward sat with the duchess on a carpet to share a snack.

“She actually went right up to Charlotte,” Jeannie said. “Charlotte asked to see her balloon animal, and went and put it right behind her back.”

Prince William sprang into action. “Would you like a balloon, Charlotte?” he asked, before picking her up.

The event drew considerable attention in the United Kingdom, where it was described as the first public appearance in which Princess Charlotte walked and talked. She uttered the words “pop” while playing with the balloons.

Charlotte delightedly petted a black and white rabbit while her mother Duchess Catherine held her. She toddled among the baby horses at the petting zoo before stroking Moose, a golden retriever and poodle cross that is a St. John’s Ambulance therapy dog. Then she sat on Moose and bounced up and down.

Prince George rode a miniature pony and squirted bubbles at his father.

Balloon artist Paul Kilshaw, 53, from Victoria, made George and Charlotte balloon animals. He started to make a pink balloon for Charlotte before George came over to say: “I want one too.”

The future king appeared to momentarily flummox Kilshaw by asking for one of his balloon animals to be a volcano.

“The balloon animal guy did his best to make that for him,” Jeannie said. “It was really cute and they were playing with that for awhile on the carpet.”

George proudly told Kilshaw he knew all about volcanoes. George pointed to the orange flames and identified them as lava.

Jeannie admitted she was unsure what to expect before meeting the royals, but said she found the duchess was “so friendly and down to earth.”

“It was a dream moment to be able to act just like a normal person with somebody who is so larger than life,” she said.

The families were selected from the Military Family Resource Centre, and the animals provided by a local 4-H club.

Navy Lieut. William Andrew Matheson called it a “once-in-a-

lifetime experience” to take his wife Kristy, four-year-old daughter Isabelle and 19-month-old daughter Lily to the party.

“It was definitely a little nerveracking at the beginning but his and her royal highnesses were very skilled at making you feel very relaxed,” he said. “It was initially surreal at the beginning, but after 10 minutes we’re all parents and we’re all at the park playing. So I think everybody understood we have one eye on them, and one eye on your kids at all times.”

Matheson, who is second in command of the submarine HMCS Victoria, said they spoke to the duke and duchess about how they balance all their royal duties with their parental responsibilities.

The royal couple spent the rest of Thursday enjoying private time with their children. They continue their royal tour Friday in Haida Gwaii, before returning to the United Kingdom on Saturday.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

Trudeau touts ?vast? potential as Chinese premier wraps up visit

DAMON VAN DER LINDE
The Vancouver Sun

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Li Keqiang wrap up the first official visit of a Chinese leader to Canada since 2010, members of the business community say that although China might not be perfect in terms of environmental regulations and human rights, now is the time to forge closer ties with what will arguably be the world’s most influential economy in coming decades.

“The discussions between our two countries lately has centred on the idea that the economic potential between us is vast and that we’d be doing a great disservice to our people if we didn’t tap into it,” Trudeau told an audience Friday that included a 150-strong delegation of Chinese business leaders at the Canada China Business Forum in Montreal.

Li called for a “new golden decade” in the relationship between the two countries, following an icier relationship under Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. 

“If a free trade agreement is established between our two countries it will open up boundless opportunities for investors and business leaders,” said Li during the luncheon. 

Li and Trudeau announced in Ottawa Thursday that the two countries were beginning exploratory free-trade talks, saying they aim to double trade by 2025 and had resolved longstanding issues of access for Canadian beef and canola to China, while several companies signed commercial deals. 

This meeting of the two leaders in Canada comes less than a month after Trudeau’s visit to China surrounding the G20 summit in Shanghai, which included the signing of $1.2 billion in trade deals. 

Former Quebec premier Jean Charest said he interprets this sudden warming between the two countries as a result of the upcoming U.S. presidential elections with both Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump talking tough on trade with China. Trump has accused China of stealing millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs, while Clinton has been critical of human rights in the country. 

“It’s probably safe to assume that the relationship with China is going to be tougher south of the border the day after the campaign than it is today, and I think the Chinese see Canada as a counterpoint to what’s happening in the United States,” said Charest, who has headed trade missions to China as premier and now does business there with the McCarthy Tétrault lawfirm. 

“Strategically for the Chinese government, it’s an opportunity.”

The visit has also addressed the rockier issues with the relationship, including China’s human rights record — it is one of a few countries that employs the death penalty — and domestic opposition to a proposed extradition treaty.

Francis Pang, who heads heads Toronto-based AKD International Inc. and has has been doing business between China and Canada for more than 40 years, said while Canada and China might not see eye-to-eye on certain issues, that shouldn’t slow economic cooperation between the two countries.

“As different countries we can always have different political agendas, but economically, this is for the benefit of our own people, both in Canada and in China,” said Pang, whose firm signed a more than $100 million pipeline manufacturing investment in 1994 that at the time was the second-biggest trade deal between the two countries.

“We cannot wait to make every political concern right before we can do economic development together.”

In interviews at the luncheon, several business representatives said that removing restrictions through a free-trade agreement will provide access to capital, helping to develop investments in the Canada’s resource sector,  which is of interest to China building infrastructure and manufacturing consumer goods for a rising middle class. 

Alan Gorman, CEO of Montreal-based Oceanic Iron Ore Corp., said that although human rights in China should be a concern to Canadians, he believes the influence should be through partnerships, not through imposing conditions.

“Chinese society ought to be defined by Chinese citizens,” said Gorman, whose company in August signed an agreement with the Power Construction Corp. of China to provide financing for a mining project. 

“We can be critical about China, however, I don’t think that serves much purpose,” Gorman said. “I think we have to look at what’s being achieved there.”

© 2016 National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc

Cutting their money hurts everyone, writes Deani Van Pelt and Sazid Hasan

Deani Van Pelt and Sazid Hasan
The Vancouver Sun

In B.C., the provincial government partially funds independent schools, which are not government-run. Calls for the reduction or elimination of independent school funding, which we often hear at the start of every school year, rest largely on misunderstandings, and in some cases, outright myths.

ndependent schools generally receive between 35 and 50 per cent of comparable per-student spending in public schools, but receive no funding or support for capital spending such as the construction and maintenance of facilities. (These additional costs are borne by the families who send their children to independent schools.)

Proponents of reducing or eliminating government funding of independent schools often argue that public schools are “starved” of resources. But the B.C. government will provide public schools with a record $5.1 billion this school year. Further, from 2004-05 to 2013-14, per-student spending in public schools increased by 18.3 per cent (after adjusting for inflation). Clearly, the public school system in B.C. is not starving. In fact, it’s hard to see any evidence of actual spending “cuts.”

It’s also not entirely clear that reducing or eliminating funding for independent schools would actually result in higher levels of perstudent spending in public schools — unless the provincial government is willing to increase total spending quite dramatically. Consider this: In 2013-14, the latest year of available data, 340 independent schools operated in the province — about 88 per cent of these schools received some level of government funding. If the government reduced or eliminated funding for independent schools, some share of students currently attending such schools would inevitably migrate to the public system. Consequently, the public system would incur the full cost of the new student who formerly attended an independent school, where the government paid only part of the cost when the student was in an independent school. Not a good deal for taxpayers or the public system.

We calculate that if more than 37,464 (47.2 per cent of the total) full-time equivalent students migrate from independent to public schools following a discontinuation of funding, the money the government saved by cutting that funding would be consumed by covering the full cost of those students in the public system.

Were any more independent students to migrate to the public system, overall government spending on education in the province would have to increase or per-student funding levels in public schools would fall. And given the finances of the provincial government, it’s not inconceivable that per-student funding would decline. In addition, the government would likely need to spend additional monies to renovate and expand existing public schools to accommodate the new students.

Another common argument made to justify reducing independent schools funding is that B.C. taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize elite schools for the wealthy. But according to a recent analysis, less than 10 per cent of all B.C. independent schools conform to an “elite” stereotype. Thus, if government discontinues funding for independent schools, it would affect the other 90 per cent of schools, which include almost all religiously oriented schools in the province as well as schools offering alternative approaches to teaching.

Finally, it’s worth noting that independent schools provide most of the choice and diversity offered to parents, and most of the competition between schools, in K-12 education in B.C. In addition, parents who choose independent schools shoulder the burden of taxes plus additional tuition costs well above funding provided by government. Reducing or eliminating independent school funding would reduce parental choice, educational diversity, and may lower perstudent spending in public schools. That’s bad news for education in the province.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc

PM urges patience on integration of newcomers

other

MONTREAL — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used the example of Italian grandmothers in Montreal to explain Thursday why Canadians shouldn’t be “overly impatient” with the integration of newcomers.

Being fearful of immigrants is “nothing new” in Canada and around the world, he said, adding that Italians and Greeks settling in Montreal during the 1950s faced similar kinds of discrimination as do Muslims and other immigrants today.

“The first generation is always going to have challenges in integrating,” Trudeau said during a panel discussion with Mayor Sadiq Khan of London, England.

“There are districts (in Montreal) where Italian grandmothers still pretty much only speak Italian and don’t speak that much French or English. But their kids and grandkids are seamlessly and completely integrated into Montreal and the only difference is they tend to be trilingual and not just bilingual.”

The prime minister was taking part in a daylong conference held by Canada 2020, which describes itself as a progressive think-tank.

Asked by the panel moderator what could be done to reduce fear of and discrimination against newcomers, Trudeau said that what’s happening in Canada and around the world is “nothing new.”

Italians and Greeks who settled in the northern part of Montreal and in other Canadian cities “faced tremendous discrimination, tremendous distrust.”

“This country didn’t happen by accident,” Trudeau said. “And it won’t continue without effort. When we think about integration and success we can’t be overly impatient.”

He said citizens should “keep a solid pressure” to ensure human rights and the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms are respected by all Canadians.

Trudeau also referred to his time visiting places of worship around the country such as mosques and temples. He was recently criticized online and in some Canadian media for visiting a mosque in Ottawa where women and men were kept separate. The prime minister said Canadians should engage with all communities.

“The question is, do you engage or participate or say, ‘I’m not going to talk to you until you hit the norm or the perfect ideal that we all aspire to,’” he said. “I think (the latter) is wrong.”

Khan, the first Muslim mayor of London, said Canada “has become a beacon of how a civilized G7 country should treat those who are vulnerable and need help.”

He also praised Trudeau for his “progressive” politics and said the prime minister’s election in October 2015 inspired him.

© Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. 1996 – 2016

other

TORONTO (September 15, 2016) – Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGI; TSX: CIG) (“Colliers”) today announced the appointment of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C. to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.

Mr. Harper recently retired as a Member of Parliament following an esteemed career in elected politics. From 2006 to 2015, Mr. Harper served as Canada’s 22nd Prime Minister, during which time he was responsible for a variety of achievements, including entering into numerous international free trade agreements and the successful shepherding of the Canadian economy through the 2008 global financial crisis. Mr. Harper was the first Prime Minister to lead the modern Conservative Party of Canada since its formation, and was the longest serving Conservative Prime Minister since Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister.

“We are extremely pleased to have Mr. Harper join our Board,” said Jay S. Hennick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Colliers. “Mr. Harper brings a wealth of experience along with the unparalleled knowledge of a former G7 leader, and insights that further differentiate our platform as we expand our business around the world. In particular, Mr. Harper’s extensive network during his time in government and demonstrated ability to deal with complex matters will enable Colliers and its clients to gain a unique international perspective. We are proud that Mr. Harper has agreed to join our team and excited about the contribution he will make in accelerating our success.”

Mr. Harper holds a bachelor and master’s degree in economics from the University of Calgary, and was awarded an honorary doctorate of philosophy from Tel Aviv University in 2014. In recognition of his government service, Mr. Harper has been awarded the Ukrainian Order of Liberty, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service, the B’nai B’rith International Presidential Gold Medallion for Humanitarianism and was named as the World Statesman of the Year in 2012 by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.

“Colliers is a great Canadian success story with a highly recognized brand known around the world, a reputation for service excellence, and a highly engaged management team with a significant ownership stake in the company, all important factors in my decision to join the Board,” said Mr. Harper. “I am looking forward to working with Colliers to further its growth in global markets, capitalize on its leadership position in the commercial real estate services sector, and continue its proven track record of building value for shareholders.”

Copyright © 2016 Colliers International Canada

Chantel Chapman
The Province

Mogo’s credit score expert, Chantel Chapman, explains how your level of indebtedness can affect your financial standing.

Welcome to our ongoing series on what impacts your credit score! Last week, we explored how missing even a $4 minimum payment can significantly lower your score.

Just in case you don’t know what a credit score is, let’s set the stage: a credit score is one of the main indicators of your financial health. It’s what lenders use to determine how big a mortgage or loan (or how high a credit card limit) to offer you and at what interest rate. Having a low score could result in getting approved at higher interest rates — or even being declined. And lenders are not the only ones checking credit; some landlords and employers do it as well.

There are many factors that will impact how high or low your credit score is, but this week we are focusing on the second-largest factor and one that a majority of Canadians are not aware of: utilization ratio. This one tip I am about to teach you can improve your score in as few as 30 days.

Your utilization ratio is your level of indebtedness, or how much of your total available credit you’re using. For example, if your credit card limit is $1,000 and your balance is $1,000, your utilization ratio is 100 per cent — and this not good in the eyes of the credit bureau. Credit bureaus base credit scores on behaviour with credit. If you are constantly maxing out your credit cards, it could imply that you are not far away from defaulting on your minimum payments. It looks like your income is stretched.

There are two rules for utilization ratios. One rule is for those who pay off their balances in full every month, and the other is for the 46 per cent of Canadians who carry a monthly credit card balance.

Scenario 1: If you pay your balance off every month

Don’t ever let your utilization ratio go over 70 per cent. For example, if you have a small business and want to build up points, you may put all your expenses on your credit card every month. You pay this off at the end of every month, but your credit card company reports your balance to Equifax (the largest credit bureau in Canada) two days before you pay the balance off in full. When your score is calculated, it will show that you maxed out your card. I see this scenario with many successful business owners who don’t have the best credit scores for this very reason.

Tip: Set an imaginary limit of 70 per cent and do not go over that. Doing this will keep your credit score healthy. For example, if your credit card limit is $10,000, do not borrow over $7,000.

Scenario 2: You carry a balance on your credit card

If you tend to carry a balance on your credit card, try to keep it under 35 per cent. There are two reasons for this. First, this is close to the magic number for utilization ratio and contributes to a strong credit score. The other reason is that it helps you put a cap on racking up debt that might not be manageable. When a credit card company increases your limit, it is not necessarily looking at your entire personal budget and might not be aware that you can afford to spend the maximum and pay it off in a timely manner. You are responsible for setting these imaginary limits for yourself to stay in control.

Approximately 30 per cent of your credit score is made up of your utilization ratio. Fixing your utilization ratio is one of the fastest ways of improving your score, so if you have a habit of accumulating credit card debt, make a payment and yours core can increase quickly.

It’s important to know your credit score well in advance so that you are not surprised when you are shopping for credit. Ideally, you should also be aware of how it changes from month to month.

You can get your Equifax credit score at no charge with free monthly monitoring at mogo.ca. Checking your score with Mogo does not impact your credit score.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc

Shutdown of port sparks fears for North

BRIAN HUTCHINSON
The Vancouver Sun

Bobby de Meulles sits at his usual perch, next to a window at the Reef coffee shop, keeping an eye on Churchill’s main drag, and beyond that, the old train station and the tracks.

This time of year, railway cars filled with Prairie wheat should be rolling past the station for the Port of Churchill, 500 metres down the line on Hudson Bay. There are no grain cars today.

There haven’t been any all summer, because Canada’s only deepwater Arctic port — the only port of consequence along 162,000 kilometres of northern coastline — has suspended grain shipments, a decision made by its Denverbased owner, Omni TRAX Inc.

DeMeulles figured something was up, long before the company announced last month it was halting port operations, save for moving local freight to small communities along the Hudson Bay coastline, mostly in Nunavut.

A private transportation company with most of its holdings in American short-line railways, Omni TRAX claims none of its regular grain suppliers wanted to do business at Churchill this year. “The grain season for 2016 has passed the solutions stage,” it says. Townsfolk wonder if it ever really tried to salvage the season.

DeMeulles understands how things are done in Churchill. He spent 60 years working at the port, retiring just four years ago when he turned 75. “I worked until I couldn’t work no more,” he says. “I was well looked after.”

But things looked bleak, well before Omni TRAX pulled the plug.

“We’d always know how many ships were nominated (coming to the port) well ahead of summer,” de Meulles explains. “We’d first start to hear about the nominations in March. Grain would starting coming up in railcars around the June 15. If you don’t hear nothing, and you don’t see nothing, and there’s no grain coming, you know something’s wrong.”

He shakes his head. “It’s a terrible thing, for a small town.”

For the rest of Canada, too, says Michael Byers, professor of political science at the University of British Columbia and an Arctic expert. The port’s sudden closure won’t impact national sovereignty, as some alarmists have claimed.

“What is important, though, is the economic development of Canada’s north,” he says. “That port is on our Arctic coastline, on salt water. Any plans for our northern development — mining, shipping, tourism — have to include it.”

The way the port looks now, that seems hard to fathom. From the centre of Churchill, it’s a five-minute walk to the docks. “No Trespassing” signs and a chain-link fence warn away the curious, but the front gate is wide open and there’s no one inside the adjacent security hut. In a normal season, Churchill would see 16 to 18 bulk carriers claiming orders of high-grade Saskatchewan wheat, canola and other grains, destined for Libya, Russia, Bangladesh and other distant places. A couple of ships would be tied to the wharf; five or six more would be anchored in the harbour.

Dozens of foreign seamen would have been ashore, walking into places such as the Reef, mingling with locals and tourists. This little town on the Manitoba muskeg, with a steady population of about 800, would, for a short while at least, look and feel like a cosmopolitan trading zone.

That is what it was, how things were, year after year during Churchill’s brief shipping season, from August to early November, or until things would freeze solid.

“It’s a short season, and the elevator can only handle so much,” says de Meulles. “But we do our share here. Or we did, anyways.”

SHOCK

It was late in July, on a Monday afternoon. Some of the 73 seasonal employees were back at the port, oiling machinery, replacing broken windows, sweeping away the dust, the bird poop. Getting the place ready for ships that hadn’t yet been nominated. There was still time to arrange a few shipments, so people had hope. People were working.

A port manager called the crew into the lunchroom. He was blunt: the season was cancelled.

Only 15 seasonal workers would be kept on for the summer, along with two fulltime staff. Half the railway’s 126 workers were also pinkslipped. Everyone in the room was in shock.

“Why bring us back, if you’re just going to turn around a couple of weeks later and shut everything down?” asked Dawne Palmer, 39. There was no explanation.

Palmer spent the last eight seasons at the port. She has two kids. Her husband has a job outside the port, and they own their house, but they don’t know how they’re going to make ends meet this winter, without her port pay.

She considers herself lucky. Joe Stover, 34, is among the majority who wasn’t called back at all this summer. Like most port workers, he won’t receive any termination pay or benefits.

This would have been his 10th season at the port.

“I really liked it,” he says. “I was proud of working there, with ships coming from all over the world. We were like, ‘ We’re here in Manitoba, and this is our ocean.’ We’re so much more than an old, decrepit bunch of buildings. I thought the only thing that could stop us was the weather.”

Churchill’s mayor, Mike Spence, learned about the shutdown minutes after workers were laid off. He dialed Omni TRAX’s Canadian subsidiary headquarters in Winnipeg. Three times he called, leaving messages. No one ever replied, so he quit trying.

Meanwhile, in Winnipeg, newly elected Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister suggested Omni TRAX was playing a cynical game of chicken with his government, closing the port while trying to extract financial concessions, more treasury dollars.

“I don’ t respond to threats,” he said.

For the next few weeks, Omni TRAX ignored local inquiries from media. Finally, Kevin Shuba, its Denverbased CEO, gave a brief interview to Winnipeg Free Press business columnist Dan Lett. His remarks only caused more confusion, and anger.

“For two years we have been talking (to the federal and provincial governments) with no response,” Shuba said. “I’ll tell you why they don’t want to talk to us. Once they reach out and talk to us, they have to become accountable, and they have to be part of the solution. They also have to acknowledge the truth and the facts. And last, once they reach out and engage us, guess what, they have to make some decisions.”

Through an administrative co-ordinator based in Winnipeg, Omni TRAX turned down an interview request from the National Post. Executives were “travelling” and could not be reached. But the company did review questions put via email, and a response came back a few days later “from the desk of Mr. Kevin Shuba.”

What had he meant by his comments?

“I was referring to the fact that for two years we made numerous attempts to work directly with governments for long-term solutions as the dynamics of the grain market had shifted,” the response reads. “There was little interest by governments to pursue talks about the changed landscape.”

The company says it tried, but failed to sign any contracts with grain suppliers for the 2016 season. The Canadian Wheat Board, once Churchill’s largest and most reliable client, was long gone, dismantled four years ago by the Harper government, and Canada’s largest private grain suppliers were moving their products through their own larger terminals, in Montreal, Thunder Bay, Ont., and Vancouver.

There was nothing to move to Churchill by rail, nothing to pour into the big ships, Omni TRAX claims, only local freight that will continue to be hauled to communities in Nunavut.

“The Port of Churchill is not closed for business,” Omni TRAX said in its response to the Post.

If that’s the case, someone needs to let the town know.

STATE SUPPORT

It has always seemed a good idea, that port. A strategic asset, in the national interest. As Byers says, it has a role to play in the north’s development. As a commercial enterprise, though, it’s been mostly a flop, always tied to the public purse, at the mercy of governments.

More than a century ago, Ottawa decided it should connect the country’s central grain belt to markets overseas, using the shortest ocean route available and bypassing traditional ports in the Maritimes and in Quebec. A port on Hudson Bay would “bring the grain growing provinces of Western Canada 1,000 miles nearer their markets in the Old World,” according to promotional efforts.

Construction of a federally funded railway began in 1910, from The Pas, in northwestern Manitoba, to Port Nelson, an old trading site on the west coast of Hudson Bay. The effort was abandoned in 1918, because of wartime shortages and requirements. Work resumed in 1926, only this time, the railway was directed to Churchill, where a port and grain elevator would open in another two years. The first steamships arrived that summer.

The entire effort cost Canadian taxpayers about $12.5 million, enough to earn scorn in certain newspapers. The Montreal Star was particularly upset, forecasting the port’s legacy in one editorial cartoon as “rotting wharfs and grain elevators, and millions of the peoples’ money, gone to the bow-wows.”

Decades passed. The port managed to survive. And Churchill itself sometimes thrived. A Second World War-era military base, built by the U.S. Army Air Corps, was populated by Canadian and U.S. forces until it closed in the late 1960s. More recently, the town has benefitted from tourism. Visits have increased exponentially since the early 1990s, thanks to the increasing popularity of adventure travel, and an abundance of polar bears and beluga whales in the area.

This summer looks like one of the town’s busiest tourist seasons ever, says Spence, Churchill’s mayor for the past 21 years. He owns a hotel and a lodge. But the cancellation of the shipping season has overshadowed any of the success stories. “This is the biggest challenge we’ve ever faced,” he says.

While he won’t blame Omni TRAX directly, he says it could have been more visible in the community at large. At the very least, it could have prepared people for the bad news.

And in hindsight, handing “a piece of huge infrastructure, smack in the middle of Canada,” to a foreign company was probably a mistake. “How was this allowed to happen?” he asks. “You don’t sell your assets.”

Blame Lloyd Axworthy, some townsfolk say. That’s not really fair, but as a cabinet minister in the governments of Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chrétien, and Manitoba’s most influential government member through most of that time, Axworthy was at least peripherally involved with port of Churchill politics.

He was around when the Chrétien government passed legislation paving the way for the divestiture of federally controlled ports.

“There’s disdain now for the (port’s) private owner, but Omni TRAX had the only serious interest (in acquiring the port) at the time,” Axworthy says. “There was a small group of shippers, as well, but they had no capital. There was no one else, really.”

Omni TRAX took over in 1997, paying just $1 for the entire operation. The real prize was the 820-kilometre rail line connecting Churchill to The Pas, and from there, to the rest of the world. It remains the only land route into Churchill. The company agreed to spend $45 million on track upgrades and keep the seaport open for at least 10 years.

Since then, according to a 2013 federal- provincial Task Force on the Future of Churchill, Ottawa and the Manitoba government have spent or committed $197 million until 2018 on Churchill.

That includes $50.5 million in direct transfers to Omni TRAX, $48 million in rail line and port upgrades, and $25 million in “grain shipping incentives.”

Omni TRAX now says it’s owed even more. Manitoba has failed to live up to additional financial commitments it has made, the company told the Post in an email exchange.

“Currently, the provincial government has provided $800,000 for capital improvements in 2015,” it claims. “There was a contractual agreement between the provincial government and Omni TRAX for 2015 which requires a further payment of $1.74 million which is currently outstanding.”

Manitoba’s new government doesn’t see things that way. “Omni TRAX is incorrect,” says Cliff Cullen, minister of growth, enterprise and trade.

“The process around the 2015 agreement signed by the previous NDP government is ongoing. Omni-TRAX’s claims invite a number of questions and are currently being reviewed by auditors as part of the process …. We are not interested in continuing to subsidize the operations of Omni TRAX with money taken from Manitoba taxpayers.”

One way or another, however, it will have to resolve matters with the company.

Spence has met provincial and federal bureaucrats and politicians, and is urging Ottawa to consider “re-nationalizing” the port. It’s an idea federal Employment Minister Mary Ann Mihychuk reportedly said her government would consider, but she’s been silent on the matter since speaking out last month; some claim she’s been told to keep quiet.

The official line from Ottawa: the government is concerned and is “monitoring the situation.”

The port isn’t going anywhere. Neither, it seems, is Omni TRAX, although it’s been trying to unload its Manitoba assets for months now. A deal to sell the port and railway to a consortium of First Nations looked imminent, at least until April, when Omni TRAX filed a civil claim in Manitoba’s Court of Queen’s Bench.

The lawsuit alleges Manitoba — and Pallister’s predecessor as premier, Greg Selinger — “unlawfully” shared “confidential and proprietary financial information” and business plans to a third party. This alleged indiscretion compromised its negotiations with the First Nations.

It’s also negotiating with the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation over selling its Manitoba assets. The band did not respond to a request for comment, but few outsiders believe the First Nation, comprised of two thinly populated reserves north of The Pas, could buy and successfully operate the Bay Line and port of Churchill without financial assistance from government and a group from outside to run things.

Omni TRAX has reportedly agreed to manage the port and railway, presumably for a fee. So Churchill may not have seen the last of the company, after all. Could locals accept such a compromise? Would port workers return for another season?

Stover doesn’t hesitate. He was raised in Churchill, did all his schooling in town, wears its heart on his sleeve.

“I would go back, for sure,” he says. “But I’m sure a lot of people wouldn’t.”

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc