The chair of the House of Commons agriculture committee has reprimanded a senior Canadian National Railway executive over plans to continue abandoning prairie producer car loading sites.
Ontario Conservative Larry Miller, on the instruction of agriculture committee members, said in a Nov. 13 letter to Jean-Jacques Ruest, CN senior vice-president for marketing, that the railway should reconsider its plan to add 13 sites to the 40 already slated to be abandoned.
He said CN promised at a committee hearing Oct. 22 not to dismantle the infrastructure at the loading sites until at least Dec. 31.
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“We urge you to reconsider this decision and maintain the infrastructure intact for the coming year,” Miller wrote.
“The committee believes this timeframe is needed for municipalities and farmers to develop their business plans and consult with CN and governments.”
Close watch
Miller warned that the committee will keep its eye on the issue, perhaps including a visit to threatened sites.
“Since this issue is of the utmost importance to western Canadian producers and rural communities, the committee intends to follow it closely.”
The letter follows a Nov. 5 complaint to the committee by Saskatchewan Conservative MP Randy Hoback.
He said CN advertised its intention to abandon 13 more sites in the Oct. 29 Western Producer.
“I find it very frustrating,” Hoback said.
“We had them here in front of the committee and then we see this show up a week later.”
Liberal Wayne Easter joined in.
“This notice treats Parliament with disrespect,” he said.
“CN and the railways are going to have to be reined in.”
The CN notice of 13 new sites for abandonment followed what senior railway executives said they would do when they appeared before MPs Oct. 22.
The company plan had been to abandon 53 little-used sites, but because notices were not published in newspapers that circulate in the affected area, 13 of the sites had to be retained until proper advertising was done.
Executives, including Ruest, said the railway would be happy to talk with producers who are prepared to guarantee more producer car traffic or local municipalities that could take over the sites.
Ruest said producers essentially abandoned the targeted sites.
“If you don’t use it, the site disappears.”
However, MPs under pressure from prairie farm groups, producer car loaders and the Canadian Wheat Board, insisted CN was being short sighted.
Miller wrote that the committee strongly disagreed with CN’s decision to abandon producer car loading sites, particularly since producer car use increased 22 percent last year.
“It seems this trend will continue and the committee recommends you take (future use) into account.”
Although CN told the Conservative government and the committee that it would delay abandoning the sites and removing the track and switches until the end of the year, the railway also made clear it will no longer spot producer cars to those targeted sites unless there is a clear indication of future business that would justify keeping them.
