Farmers’ hopes are fizzling out for a quick public hearing to explain last winter’s grain transportation delay.
The Canadian Wheat Board, which launched a complaint against the railways alleging their poor performance cost farmers $65 million, is now locked in a dispute with the rail companies over when the hearings should begin.
“It’s a crying shame, really,” said Larry Maguire, president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers.
“This is just a bunch of legal wrangling between participants with large amounts of money and farmers are caught in the middle paying the bills.”
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The Canadian Transportation Agency was to hear the case in August but was stalled when CP Rail won a court ruling that one of the board’s lawyers who used to work for CP was in conflict of interest. Then the board was denied permission by the court to use separate firms for its case against CP and CN Rail.
Hearings were to start in November but last week the wheat board said its new legal team, the Ontario-based firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, needs more time to familiarize itself with the case.
“It’s gone this far and we should make sure the legal team is in a position to do justice to the case,” said board spokesperson Rhea Yates. The new lawyers will be ready to go in January, she said.
But January is no good for the railways, said CN public affairs officer Jim Feeny.
“That’s a busy time when our senior people should be focused on moving grain,” added Ian LaCouvee, of CP Rail.
Both companies say the next available time is April. That’s almost a year after the original complaint was filed by the board.
Legislation governing the Canada Transportation Act allows for 120 days to lapse between the time a complaint is filed and when public hearings must take place. That deadline expires at the end of this month. A spokesperson for the agency said in a case of this magnitude, those rules will be broken.
“There’s talk that this case represents a lot of lost money,” said CTA spokesperson Charles Mojsej. “A finding here could mean the Canadian Wheat Board could go to another court and go after the railways for that money.”
A new date should be set this week, he said.
