If the federal Liberal government cares about its political future in Western Canada, it will reject the grain transportation reform proposals put forward by Arthur Kroeger, says Manitoba’s new minister of agriculture.
Rosann Wowchuk said she is convinced the majority of prairie farmers disagree with Kroeger’s proposals to create a more commercial, deregulated rail system and remove the Canadian Wheat Board from transportation.
“If the federal government is taking seriously the farmers of Western Canada, politically it would very unwise for them to implement the recommendations as they are.”
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Wowchuk said she delivered that message in person to federal agricultural minister Lyle Vanclief Oct. 14 and will soon be following it up in writing to transport minister David Collenette. She expressed some confidence that the government can be convinced to reject Kroeger.
“I think they’re politically sensitive,” she said. “It’s our hope that they’ll realize these recommendations will be detrimental to the farm community.”
Wowchuk said the proposals do not put more money into the hands of farmers.
Kroeger sided with the railways and grain companies rather than most producer groups and western provincial governments, she said, and “now the federal government has to decide whose side they’re on.”
Wowchuk identified three areas where the province disagrees with Kroeger’s recommendations.
- The railway revenue cap fails to protect producers from excessive freight rates and provides no assurance that farmers will share in future railway productivity gains.
- The end to the CWB’s role in transportation limits farmers’ delivery options and prevents the board from doing the best possible job of marketing.
- There was no immediate action recommended to increase competition between the railways, notably open access of the track.
