The federal Conservative government has signaled that it plans to push legislation through Parliament before the end of June to implement new rail shipper protection rules.
It is part of a government plan announced May 21 to have the House of Commons sit late most nights until late June to approve scores of bills that remain on the Commons agenda.
It is a clear signal that the government wants to clean up its agenda from this parliamentary session and then launch a new session in September with a throne speech and a new pre-election agenda.
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Bills not approved when a parliamentary session ends die without approval.
A major cabinet shuffle is also expected this summer to give the government a fresher face in the final two years before the October 2015 election.
The rail freight service bill has been approved in principle by MPs and approved by the transport committee without amendment. Opposition MPs proposed amendments, arguing the bill is too weak, but the Conservative majority rejected them all.
Since then, the bill has been sitting on the Commons agenda without being called by the government for debate that will lead to final approval and movement to the Senate.
Van Loan now says it is one of the bills that must be passed by summer.
“We will also work to bring Bill C-52, the fair rail freight service act, into law,” he said.
“The bill would support economic growth by ensuring that all shippers, including farmers, are treated fairly.”
A coalition of rail shippers hopes that once it arrives in the Senate, they can convince the Conservative majority there to toughen the bill and its shipper rights.
The bill would require carriers to entertain a request from a shipper that they negotiate a level-of-service agreement with penalties if either side does not live up to the commitments.
If an agreement cannot be reached, the shipper can apply to the Canadian Transportation Agency for an arbitrated settlement that imposes service obligations on carriers with penalties for non-compliance.
The CTA can levy a penalty of up to $100,000 per infraction if a breach of a service contract is established, but the money goes to the government.
Shipper claims for damages would have to come through a court case.
Industry critics say the bill should make rail service obligations more clear, but argue that it should be passed even if not amended because it is better than the current system of a market imbalance between railways and shippers.
