Roberta Rampton

WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Court of Queen’s bench dismissed a class action lawsuit against the Canadian Wheat Board on May 24 over the way it handled the 1993-94 feed wheat pool. The suit was launched in December 1995 by M-Jay Farm Enterprises Ltd., owned by Fran and Jake Hoeppner of Snowflake, Man. Jake Hoeppner is […] Read more

WINNIPEG – The romance of railways often sucks the unprepared into buying a short-line railroad, says an American expert on the subject. But, he adds, the economics of owning a short line can then chew the misguided up and spit them out. Andrew Jennings, who has worked with short lines since the 1960s and has […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Thunder Bay’s future looks precarious at best, according to two experts at the University of Manitoba’s Transport Institute. John Heads and Arthur Wilson project grain exports through the East Coast have likely fallen as far as they will go. But Lakehead terminals will face increased competition from other East Coast routes in the […] Read more

WINNIPEG – A group of farmers and longtime Churchill supporters is squaring off against a group of business people to try to buy the port and rail line. Churchill Opportunities Foundation Inc. is a non-profit group looking for seed funding from farmers and municipalities for the venture. It is led by Arnold Grambo of the […] Read more

WINNIPEG – CP Rail has not yet finalized its plans for prairie grain lines under the new transportation act. “We are not in a position yet to say what will happen with them,” said Gill Mackie, spokesperson for CP’s marketing department, at a recent transportation conference. Mackie will be responsible for working with would-be short-line […] Read more

WINNIPEG – John Dueck couldn’t take the heat on his old farm – literally. So he moved from the tropical climes of Belize to Arborg, Man., where he had relatives, and began working as a hired hand. For about 10 years, he has been farming on his own, taking care of 125 Simmental cows and […] Read more

WINNIPEG – A proposal for a trucks-only toll road from Winnipeg to Duluth, Minnesota is going nowhere fast according to Canadian truckers and transportation experts. A Washington, D.C. firm made the proposal last November to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The department was looking for toll road ideas. James Ball, president of Transportation Industries International, […] Read more

BRANDON, Man. – Harold Froese says it’s a small miracle 15 Manitoba farm groups have been united for over a year on transportation issues. But he thinks a group of Manitoba MPs is trying to undermine the credibility of the Manitoba Coalition on Transportation Reform. Last week, western diversification minister Jon Gerrard and seven Liberal […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Manitoba Pork has launched a contract it hopes will keep producers coming back even when the agency loses its monopoly on hog marketing July 1. The agency wrapped its marketing services into a program called Opportunityplus, which includes the popular forward contracting program. “It’s nothing that changes the former method of selling, it’s […] Read more

WINNIPEG – There is a tidal wave of controversy over how Manitoba municipalities are compensated for natural disasters like this spring’s flood in the Red River Valley. The provincial government believes municipalities that use their own staff and equipment during normal working hours to prepare for major flooding or repair damage should be compensated. Federal […] Read more