The makeup of the federal rail service panel is bad news for farmers, says the National Farmers Union.
“I have no optimism that this will result in anything that will help farmers,” said NFU president Stewart Wells.
However, the NFU stands alone in its criticism, as officials with other farm and grain industry said they have no concerns about the panel membership.
The federal government appointed the three-member panel two weeks ago.
The members are chair Walter Paszkowski, a former Alberta government cabinet minister, David Edison, who spent 40 years working for Canadian National Railway and retired in 2003 as a vice-president and Bill LeGrow, who has worked for both CN and West Fraser Mills Ltd., a major forest products company, during his 37-year career.
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Wells is not impressed.
“From a farmer’s point of view, I’m not sure how you could come up with a worse panel on the surface of it,” he said in an interview last week.
He said because two of them have an employment history with CN and the third is a Conservative politician who favours deregulation, it doesn’t bode well.
“The structure of a panel or task force almost always determines the results,” said Wells.
“I’m not very optimistic on how you can solve the rail service problem by putting in charge people who came out of the culture that led to the problem.”
The NFU president said railway officials can have a role in the review, but they shouldn’t be the ones who write the report.
Officials with other farm and industry groups said they don’t share the NFU’s concerns.
They expected the panel to include someone with a railway background, someone with a shipper background and someone with a public policy background and that’s what they got in Edison, LeGrow and Paszkowski.
“As long as they all go in with open minds and do a thorough consultation with all stakeholders, including shippers and farm organizations, I have no problem,” said Robert McLean, vice-president of Keystone Agricultural Producers.
Canadian Wheat Board spokesperson Maureen Fitzhenry said the board is pleased with the appointment of LeGrow, who has represented shippers in previous transportation reviews and service complaints.
Wade Sobkowich of the Western Grain Elevators Association said all three members bring something valuable to the panel, including public policy experience, railway expertise and an understanding of shippers’ issues.
He added LeGrow’s work on behalf of forest products shippers reflects the same approach to rail service issues as the WGEA.
“He’s a good panel member from a shipper’s perspective,” he said.
– EWINS
