International Trade committee  Sealift is provided by ships that are about 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes, out of Montreal. An alternative that we have considered and are seriously looking at is what's called a tug and barge operation. If you operate a tug and barge out of Churchill, you could operate probably a weekly sealift using tug and barge.

International Trade committee  The commodities we're looking at targeting.... One group is Nunavut resupply. Another would be agribusiness. There are still large sectors of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and parts of Alberta that are the farthest away from any of the current ports, and for their agricultural product capacity, Churchill is the nearest port.

International Trade committee  It's currently about 16 to 18 weeks. However, we're actually in the midst of an academic study with some world-renowned ice scientists who've confirmed that Churchill can operate six months of the year right now. We just need to get sufficient data. We're doing more targeted research with them now.

International Trade committee  I know that studies have been done in that regard. I'm not sure of the cost.

International Trade committee  I can't speak to the entire budget, but we are not aware of any direct financial support in the budget for the Port of Churchill. Arctic Gateway has benefited from significant support through PrairiesCan and through the Province of Manitoba for a number of years. We are currently requesting additional funding through PrairiesCan, through government, to support us for what we call bridge financing.

International Trade committee  It's $500 million. Again, we are not looking for government to support us with that kind of investment. We believe that we'll be able to attract equity partners. However, in the interim, we require government assistance to get us to a certain level so that we can do so.

International Trade committee  Well, Churchill is a multimodal facility, but it has no road link to southern Manitoba. It's landlocked, so to speak. It has, as I said, a 9,200-foot-long runway. It can land anything, including the space shuttle. It was an alternate landing site. It's a very well-established runway.

International Trade committee  At this time, no. One would have to construct an all-weather road. There have been multiple studies done in that regard. I can't speak to them. We're the Arctic Gateway Group. We're the railroad and the port.

International Trade committee  Well, we're currently in the midst of concluding the capital work. We'll have spent almost $150 million to stabilize the rail line over the last three years. We need to continue to spend approximately $25 million in capital annually, and that is consistent with class I railways like CPKC or CN.

International Trade committee  I'm sorry. I guess I should have read faster. I'll go straight to our closing remarks. We believe that increased infrastructure investment is necessary. We are optimistic about the future of the Port of Churchill. We believe that the port and the Hudson Bay Railway present a unique opportunity to strengthen Canada's role in global supply chains and, by extension, Canada's Arctic sovereignty.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, honourable members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade. My name is Michael Woelcke. I'm the chief executive officer of the Arctic Gateway Group. I am accompanied today by Cory Young, vice-president of corporate services.