Prairie agriculture ministers say they are pleased the federal government took action to get grain moving.
Both Saskatchewan’s Lyle Stewart and Alberta’s Verlyn Olson said the announcement that the railways will be required to deliver 500,000 tonnes each per week and pay fines up to $100,000 per day if they don’t comply is a good first step. The federal government also intends to introduce legislation that federal minister Gerry Ritz described as “get to work” legislation.
“The railways certainly have the capacity to deliver these numbers and more,” said Stewart.
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“I think what’s been lacking is the will to do it. The penalties that are put in place will be a very strong encouragement to them to improve their service.”
He said allowing the railways four weeks to ramp up their service to 5,500 cars each per week is fine with him. He said there are enough cars in the system but not enough locomotives and crews.
However, he said the province hopes to have some input as the federal law is developed and will ask for 13,000 cars instead of 11,000.
“The industry is confident that they can handle at least 13,000 and we think we ought to push things a little bit, that we have one shot at fixing this transportation mess and we better not fall short of the mark,” he said.
Olson said there clearly must be changes to legislation because the commercial solution of allowing grain companies and railways to work out their business is “largely ineffective.”
He said the lack of competition in the rail system is a problem that requires regulatory intervention, and politicians of all stripes can agree on that.
“These are longstanding issues and they are issues really of national interest,” he said.
Meanwhile, federal politicians were less impressed with the measures taken by the Conservative government.
Saskatchewan Liberal MP Ralph Goodale said it has taken five months and $5 billion in losses to get action that won’t yield results. He said the spring road bans will be in place by the time railways ramp up, leaving farmers in exactly the same position.
“I’m just astounded that after this length of time and the accumulation of these, losses that the government has come forward with such a weak-kneed position,” he said. “They must be terrified of the railways.”
Goodale noted that even if a railway is fined every single day for the 90-day period authorized by the order in council, that amounts to only $9 million, and that goes to government coffers rather than farmers.
The fine would be more meaningful if the government had required the railways to pay the demurrage at the West Coast, he said.
He also said the new legislation should define levels of service, include a way to measure that and include compensation for farmers.
Both he and NDP agriculture critic Malcolm Allen chided Canadian Pacific Railway’s advertisements in national newspapers last week.
“The real gall of CP to run advertisements … suggesting that it’s every else’s fault but theirs,” Allen said.
“This idea that we’re doing a great job. The truth is they’re not and it’s farmers that suffer at the end of the day.”
Allen said even with 11,000 cars per week rolling, the industry is still looking at carryover of about 23 million tonnes.
“When are you actually going to sell it?” he asked.
