A sigh of relief for Huron Central Railway (HCRY) employees and a break for the Sault’s economy, for now at least.
Genesee & Wyoming Canada (GWCI), which owns HCRY (commonly known as ‘the HCR’), announced Friday afternoon it has agreed to extend its previously announced plan to cease HCR’s operations from Dec. 18, 2020 until June 30, 2021.
The HCR freight line runs between the Sault and Sudbury, its operations crucial to local industries such as Algoma Steel and others.
In September, Genesee & Wyoming stated it needs $44 million from the federal and Ontario governments to upgrade the line, originally setting Dec. 18 being the last day of business for the line if that financial aid doesn’t come through.
“We’re very excited that the Huron Central Railway has agreed to extend their operations for an additional six months to the 30th of June of 2021, while we at the provincial government continue to work together with the HCRY as well as the federal government to review a recent proposal that they (HCRY) have provided to us and hopefully we’ll have more news to share in the coming weeks,” said Sault MPP Ross Romano, speaking to SooToday Friday afternoon.
“It’s good news at this point...over 40 people who have jobs in Sault Ste. Marie working for HCRY would’ve lost their employment by the end of next week.”
“They’ll continue to work with our government as well as the federal government...we’re going to work together with HCRY to review their proposal and hopefully we’ll learn more in the coming weeks,” Romano said, adding news of the company’s agreement to extend its operations came in early Friday afternoon, just a day after he and Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney told local media the province is aware of the urgency of the situation and working on a solution.
Details of the HCRY proposal were not immediately available, but Romano said “the proposal HCRY has put forward, and there are a series of them, and the idea of the proposals, while they do include money asks, they are geared towards making the operation sustainable going forward.”
A local stakeholder committee has been working to keep the HCR’s operations alive.
“I’ve been meeting regularly with the task force since before February on a weekly basis...we were meeting weekly, virtually, by phone to monitor the status and the situation,” Romano said.
“Since the August 31st announcement of our difficult decision to cease operation of HCRY, we have engaged in regular discussions with both the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada with the goal of avoiding this outcome. Over the past two weeks, these negotiations have intensified as our government partners explore an agreement with GWCI and consider our revised proposal to co-invest in the rehabilitation of the railway,” said Rick McClellan, Genesee & Wyoming Canada (GWCI) president, in a news release.
“It is evident that both the provincial and federal governments are genuinely working to find a solution to keep HCRY operational and secure the jobs of our 43 local workers, especially during the holiday season. All three parties are working together to ensure that our customers who depend on this line – major employers in Northern Ontario’s natural resource economy – avoid a serious near-term disruption to their supply chains.”
“Given the progress made in these negotiations and the clearly expressed willingness to come to an agreement, we have carefully considered and agreed to a request by the Government of Ontario to postpone the planned end to HCRY’s operation on Dec. 18th. With our government partners having made clear commitments to negotiate a long-term solution, GWCI is pleased to extend the timeline for closure of HCRY and commit to keep trains running until June 30, 2021,” McClellan wrote.
“This good-faith extension will give all parties the necessary time to come to an agreement to secure a sustainable future for this strategic asset and avoid the permanent closure of HCRY. The extension demonstrates our commitment to our employees, our customers and the communities we all serve. There is too much at stake to close HCRY with negotiations progressing constructively.”
“We remain determined to work with both levels of government to finalize an agreement in the New Year to sustain this vital railway,” McClellan wrote.