The Farmer Rail Car Coalition says it will support Ottawa’s decision to keep its grain car fleet as long as a car replacement program is in place as soon as possible and farmers don’t have to pay for it.
The FRCC has sent letters to transport minister Lawrence Cannon, agriculture minister Chuck Strahl and the standing committees of both transport and agriculture outlining the conditions on which it would support the decision.
President Sinclair Harrison said although the FRCC didn’t get the cars, it did succeed at keeping them out of the railways’ hands, at least in the short term.
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He said the long-term issue of replacement is now key.
The May 4 announcement that the government had decided to keep the cars was short on details about replacement and maintenance, he said.
“We’re of the opinion the federal government should replace (the cars),” said Harrison.
That would mean all taxpayers would foot the bill.
The coalition also wants a $35 million refurbishment program completed within five years, also at no expense to farmers.
Harrison noted that Cannon said he doesn’t want increased costs for farmers. He worries that could happen if the railways are involved in maintenance because they have already overcharged for that job.
“You wouldn’t reward the railroads with another maintenance contract when they … have failed miserably in maintaining the cars to present,” he said.
Harrison said the government should put the maintenance contract out for competitive bid to all players.
The FRCC has also asked the government to request an extension to its July 1 deadline to upgrade its steel cars under the Association of American Railroad rules. That would improve the cars to the 286,000-pound gross rail load standard.
It wants annual filing of five- and 10-year maintenance and refurbishment plans. And finally, the FRCC said legislation to reduce the revenue cap must apply to all cars, including those owned by the railways. The legislation as drafted would not apply to them.
Harrison said ongoing monitoring of maintenance through an independent agency should be done to make sure it’s actually being done and at reasonable cost.
He said the federal government should be considering all of these issues if it’s serious about looking after farmers’ interests. The coalition is raising these concerns on behalf of farmers and hopes to make another appearance before the standing committee on transport within the next couple of weeks.
The FRCC is expected to hold a board meeting June 7 to evaluate “where things are at,” Harrison said.
Meanwhile, the coalition is still negotiating maintenance contracts and possible ownership of the Saskatchewan grain car fleet. It meets with Alberta agriculture minister Doug Horner in July to discuss maintaining the Alberta cars and talks continue with the Canadian Wheat Board about maintaining its fleet.
“If ownership (of the federal fleet) isn’t in the cards, certainly management and maintenance of the Saskatchewan, Alberta and wheat board cars would be close to 5,000 cars,” said Harrison. “We’ll continue to pursue business opportunities.”
