Canadian grain growers are relieved the government has accepted Senate amendments to its transportation bill related to grain movement and now say the legislation must be passed as soon as possible.
However, Bill C-49 is not a done deal because the House of Commons rejected nine of the 19 amendments, including some related to air passenger rights, and that could mean more delays.
The bill must be debated again in the Commons and then return to the Senate.
Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said April 30 he expects most will want the bill to move through the process quickly.
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“I was certainly pleased with everything that was in the bill, but the amendments that came back, as you probably know, I am more than pleased that a decision has been made to accept them,” he said.
Asked if the amendments could have been made last fall even before the bill went to the Senate, the minister said government works in different ways.
“It happened now, that’s all I can say,” he said.
“I don’t think there’s much doubt that the amendments will be accepted and that is what is important, for not only right now but for many years down the road.”
Producers want the bill passed before the next crop year begins.
“We need the legislation in place well in advance of Aug. 1, 2018, to ensure hard working middle class farmers don’t have to suffer through another grain shipping season with terrible rail service,” said Grain Growers of Canada president Jeff Nielsen.
The 2017-18 grain backlog is pegged at about 28,000 cars. In grain week 38, Canadian National Railway supplied 92 percent of cars ordered while Canadian Pacific Railway supplied just 53 percent, according to the Ag Transport Coalition.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau has proposed a change to the Senate’s amendment that would have allowed the Canadian Transportation Agency to launch its own investigations into rail service delays without a formal complaint. The government proposes that this happen at the minister’s discretion.
Amendments to expand interswitching provisions and add soybeans to the list of crops under the maximum revenue entitlement were also accepted.
“We see the news from minister Garneau as an excellent show of support for the agriculture industry and for farmers,” said Alberta Wheat Commission chair Kevin Bender in a statement.
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett commended both Garneau and agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay for recognizing that the Senate amendments addressed farmers’ concerns.
“We are pleased to see that C-49 has reached another critical milestone and request continued collaboration to pass the bill before summer recess,” Bonnett said in a news release.
MacAulay added there is still a lot to do to get grain moving and keep it that way.
“We need double tracks in places. We need bottlenecks taken out of the way. We need more engineers and conductors. We need more hopper cars. All of this is to follow, and it will,” he said.
