"Pierre Poilievre is eyeing the Port of Churchill as a way to increase fossil fuel exports. Here’s what you need to know about the complicated reality of his plan".

"Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was met with rousing applause last week as he laid out a vision for a prosperous northern Manitoba that hinges on the contentious Port of Churchill.

His plan — built in part around the idea of shipping oil through the port — has attracted increasing attention from Canadian leaders in recent months, putting Churchill’s future into the national spotlight.

Poilievre’s remarks formed part of a speech on Canada’s future, hosted by the Frontier Centre — a Canadian “think tank” that’s come under fire for climate change denial and a history of anti-Indigenous rhetoric — in a ballroom at Winnipeg’s RBC Convention Centre.

More than 500 people crowded around lunch tables to hear Poilievre’s plan to uplift “common people,” remove the “gatekeepers” to Canadian industry and fight the “anti-energy, anti-resource” laws of the current Liberal government. As his speech lamented carbon taxes and federal red tape that have purportedly hampered Canada’s energy and resource industries, the crowd grew increasingly emphatic in their cheers and applause."

Julia-Simone Rutgers reports for the Narwhal January 21, 2023. [2]