A complaint by a northern Alberta grain company over poor rail service has struck a chord with area farmers.
A petition expressing support for Great Northern Grain Ltd.’s case against Canadian National Railway was signed by 214 farmers.
“That’s the majority of farmers in this region,” said petition organizer Ro Allen, who farms with her partner at Smoky River, Alta.
“Everyone I approached was very, very positive about it.”
The petition has been forwarded to the Canadian Transportation Agency, which is considering the GNG complaint.
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Allen said producer car shippers and grain businesses in the area are fed up with the lack of timely and consistent rail service.
For example, a local oats company had ordered 772 rail cars at the beginning of April and received 274. Similarly, a producer car shipping group ordered 600 cars and received 194.
“Some farmers haven’t sold grain all winter because there are no rail cars coming up,” Allen said. “That’s wrong.”
GNG, which operates an elevator at Nampa, Alta., just south of Peace River, launched the level of service complaint in March, saying CN’s rail programs discriminate against smaller shippers.
The CTA is required to issue a decision by July 6, unless both sides agree to an extension.
Allen said the petitioners want the CTA to rule in favour of GNG and implement the remedies suggested in the grain company’s complaint.
Those remedies include requiring CN to:
- Provide reasonable and suitable service to move GNG’s grain.
- Implement a fair, transparent, nondiscriminatory car rationing process, with at least 50 percent of its fleet available for general distribution. As well, set the maximum car blocks for advance booking at 50 cars.
- Permit shippers to trade allocated cars to meet their individual needs.
- Report regularly to the CTA on changes in its fleet size and allocation programs and policies.
“The remedies GNG has listed in their complaint would solve everybody’s problems,” Allen said.
She added that putting the petition together was a positive experience for farmers in the area, who have felt helpless over the poor rail service.
“There’s been an overall sense of bleakness and now there is a glimmer of hope,” she said. “At least we’re doing something about it.”
CN has told the agency the only issue it should consider is the actual level of service provided to GNG during a specified period. It said the agency has no authority to interfere with CN’s commercial operations and should ignore the interventions from third parties not directly involved in GNG’s situation.
