Citizens concerned with a plan to transport millions of barrels of crude oil to Churchill are coming together at a town hall meeting tonight.

Organized by the Wilderness Committee, the meeting is scheduled to raise awareness and build opposition regarding an oil shipping proposal from Omnitrax Inc., which intends to transport 3.3-million barrels of crude oil annually on its Hudson Bay rail line. The oil would then be loaded onto tanker ships in the Port Of Churchill, which is also operated by Omnitrax.

The Wilderness Committee is "strongly opposed" to the proposal, citing the climate change implications of transport and the increased risk of an oil spill in the sensitive Northern Manitoba environment.

"Shipping crude oil through such a unique and delicate stretch of wilderness is incredibly risky, and people from all over the province have been speaking out against the idea," Wilderness Committee in Manitoba campaign director Eric Reder said in a statement.

The meeting is at Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall at the University of Winnipeg, starting at 7 p.m. Town hall meetings have also been scheduled later this month in Thompson (Oct. 15) and Churchill (Oct. 18).