With the next session of Parliament just weeks away, there is one key issue that the federal government can deliver upon right away.
In a rare show of unity, farmers and grain companies supported the cause.
Bill C-58, which died midway through the legislative process when the last Parliament ended, would give those who rely on the two national railways to ship agricultural products much needed redress in a system that has long favoured the railways.
The federal Conservatives plan to begin the next parliamentary session Oct. 16 and farmers and agribusinesses are waiting to learn the government’s priorities in the speech from the throne.
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Agriculture has many candidates, such as the future of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly and development of a more effective package of farm programs to replace the existing agricultural policy framework. There are also issues surrounding changes to the Canada Grains Act: how the Canadian Grain Commission is structured, amendments to rules for identifying new varieties and more farmer protection in the act.
What the Conservatives say in their throne speech will tell farmers how serious the government is about agriculture. Bill C-58 would be a good place to start.
It had widespread support in the agricultural industry during the last parliamentary session. Even groups that are not usually allies came together to support it. The CWB, Western Grain Elevators Association and Grain Growers of Canada all supported the bill.
Only Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway voiced dissent. Such heavyweight opposition might be difficult for any government to ignore and there may be temptations to move the issue to the back burner.
But railway opposition notwithstanding, the proposed shippers’ rights bill presents a golden opportunity for federal politicians of all stripes.
With a minority government, the Conservatives have at times been forced to move more slowly than they otherwise might have wished. The CWB monopoly is a case in point.
But when it comes to Bill C-58, minority government or not, the Conservatives have a good chance to deliver real benefit to farmers almost immediately.
They require agreement from all opposition parties to fast track the bill, but given the bill’s broad agricultural support, we would think that no party would want to be seen as responsible for delaying it.
The changes promised in the bill include provisions to give shippers more recourse when dealing with service or fee complaints, would force railways to provide lists of available sites for producer car loading and require 60 days notice before removing them, it would also require more notice of rate increases and would compel the government to start a full review of railway service.
The proposed changes provide more equitable power sharing between shippers and the railways and the opportunity must not be shunted aside by partisan politics.
Bruce Dyck, Terry Fries, Barb Glen, D’Arce McMillan and Ken Zacharias collaborate in the writing of Western Producer editorials.
