SASKATOON (Staff) – It will be business as usual when it comes to doling out rail cars in the new crop year.
Although the Grain Transportation Agency officially ceases to exist after July 31, the Winnipeg-based body will continue allocating rail cars and providing other planning, analytical and statistical services.
So while industry officials try to figure out just how the grain transportation system will function in the new deregulated, post-Crow environment, the day-to-day rules will remain unchanged.
“The GTA, maybe not by the same name, but performing the same function, will remain in place until the bigger and more comprehensive issues are sorted out,” said Milt Wakefield of the Canadian Grain Commission, chair of an industry committee overseeing the review.
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Among other things, that means rail cars will still be allocated on the basis of sales and the Canadian Wheat Board will continue to play a key role in allocating cars carrying board grains.
Brian Hayward, chief executive officer of United Grains Growers Ltd., said industry officials felt that with so many major issues unresolved, the status quo should remain.
Meanwhile, a special industry committee is trying to settle three of those unresolved issues: the disposition of the 13,000 government rail cars, the board’s role in transportation, and how rail cars will be allocated.
Committee member Jim Robbins, a farmer from Delisle, Sask., said the group has been operating under two basic assumptions: Ottawa wants a more “market-oriented” system, and the CWB’s marketing powers won’t change.
Robbins said some in the industry want to break the system down and start from scratch to set up a totally commercial environment.
For them, the government cars should be sold with no strings attached and no longer be dedicated to Western Canadian grain service.
Others think the existing system does a good job of delivering large amounts of grain in a timely manner to generally satisfied customers.
For them, the cars should have conditions attached to their sale or be given to producer groups or the CWB, the board would continue to allocate cars carrying board grain and a new producer-funded agency would replace the GTA.
