Canadian Pacific Railway said today that it will appeal a $50,000 fine issued by Transport Canada.
The fine was issued following a Transport Canada investigation that determined CP failed to meet a minimum grain hauling target imposed by the federal government last year.
Between April and late November of 2014, both CP and Canadian National Railway were required by law to haul at least 536,000 tonnes of western Canadian grain per week or face fines as high as $100,000 per infraction.
CP’s alleged infraction occurred during the second week of September.
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In today’s email, CP spokesperson Jeremy Berry said the railway is disputing the Transport Canada fine on the basis that the missed targets of Sept. 7-13, 2014, were the result of broader supply chain issues, specifically the Labour Day holiday shutdown at the Port of Vancouver the week before.
“These events outside of CP’s control in the supply chain contributed to delays in the movement, loading and shipping of railcars on CP,” the email said.
“CP has stressed and will continue to stress that the Canadian grain supply chain must operate on a 24/7 basis to support balanced pipelines, reduce congestion and drive velocity.”
Earlier this week, Transport Canada confirmed that Canada’s two largest grain companies have been fined for failing to meet weekly grain movement targets established by the federal government in 2014.
Officials with Transport Canada confirmed yesterday that CN has been fined $100,000 and CP $50,000 for failing to move enough grain.
According to Transport Canada, CN failed to meet the weekly grain targets on two occasions — once during the last week of July and again during the second week of September.
CP’s only infraction occurred between Sept. 7 and Sept. 13.
In today’s email, CP said it “will continue to move Canadian grain consistent with demand from its customers and in compliance with the mandatory minimums, which were extended to March 2015 by the Government of Canada.”
In 2014, the company moved record amounts of grain — 21 percent over the three year average and up 16 percent over the previous record crop year of 2008-09.
“More than anything, it is market forces that have driven the record volumes of grain that CP has delivered this year and last,” the railway said.
