Less talk, more rock.
That’s what members of Keystone Agricultural Producers want each time they tune into discussions about the Estey review on grain handling and transportation.
KAP president Don Dewar said recently that Ottawa must orchestrate the effort to turn the review into action. The review prepared by former Supreme Court justice Willard Estey was released in December 1998.
“They’ve done nothing since the report was released,” said Dewar, referring to the inaction of the federal government. “They asked for responses, and we’ve all given them that response.”
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While the recommendations of the Estey review were not all favored by KAP members, the general farm group thinks the review offered a starting point for discussions.
Among other things, the Estey report dealt with the question of freight rate caps. It also delved into what role the Canadian Wheat Board should have in rail car allocation.
Dewar cited the rate cap as an example of where action on the Estey review could have merit. Unless some direction can be charted on that issue, Dewar suspects the railway companies will get their way through a strong lobby effort.
KAP thinks Ottawa’s involvement is needed because it would be impossible to bring all interested parties together at one table to reach a consensus.
“You can’t have a committee of 500 people trying to resolve it,” said Dewar, during a general council meeting of KAP last week in Brandon.
However, when efforts are made to build upon the Estey review, the process will have to be transparent enough so that interested parties know what direction it is taking, Dewar said. Otherwise the complaints will continue.
