OTTAWA – A measure of peace returned to the federal government’s planning for Western Grain Transportation Act changes last week.
There were few references to the issue in the House of Commons, and Howard Migie’s grain transportation unit in Agriculture Canada was able to turn its attention to the upcoming Producer Payment Panel and away from the firefighting of the previous week.
The uproar over transport minister Doug Young’s comments caught everyone, including cabinet colleagues, by surprise, when he announced the end of grain transportation subsidies to the railways by next year.
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The comments have left their mark.
Opposition politicians are convinced the credibility of the government was damaged by the fiasco which saw agriculture minister Ralph Goodale scrambling to convince the grain industry no such decision had been taken.
“There is great confusion and farmers are uncertain about whether or how that subsidy benefit will be paid,” said Saskatchewan Reform MP Allan Kerpan.
“The government has not looked good on this one.”
Throughout the grain industry, there was lingering anger at Young and some suspicion about the government’s grain freight-rate agenda.
The Canadian Wheat Board advisory committee called for Young to be removed from the transport portfolio.
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool president Leroy Larsen said it is an idea prime minister Jean ChrŽtien might want to consider.
“If I had someone working for me that was so unfamiliar with the portfolio he has responsibility for, I would take a second look at him and insist he get up to speed quickly or else,” said Larsen. “To show that level of ignorance is just unacceptable to me.”
In provincial capitals, despite Goodale’s assurances that months of consultations remain to be completed before final decisions are made, there still are uncertainties.
Goodale will have some blunt questions to answer when he meets provincial agriculture ministers in Winnipeg.
Ken Edie, chair of Prairie Pools Inc., said Young appears to have spoken without considering the complexities and ramifications for the grain handling industry.
“It’s something that needs to be the subject of a cabinet discussion where the government can decide what overall policy should be, with both costs and benefits weighed.”
Meanwhile, Young continued on his rhetorical crusade against transportation subsidies. He insisted his job as transport minister will be to identify subsidies and eliminate them wherever possible.
Nothing is safe, from VIA Rail to the St. Lawrence Seaway, the airways and regional subsidies.
It was a blunt approach that caused some unease in Liberal caucus ranks.
“I agree with him that all these issues need to be looked at,” said Liberal Thunder Bay MP Joe Comuzzi, chair of a Commons committee studying Seaway issues. “But these are issues that require some delicate consideration as well.”
