Farm groups fear that Bill C-49 won’t be passed in time to ensure efficient rail movement of 2017 crops
Three groups in Saskatchewan have joined the growing chorus of western Canadian farm organizations calling for an extension of the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act.
The Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (Sask Wheat), the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission (Sask Barley) and the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan have issued a joint statement calling for the quick passage of federal legislation aimed at improving rail service for agricultural shippers.
If legislative changes aren’t enacted before the beginning of the new crop year on Aug. 1, 2017, then Ottawa should take steps to extend the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, also known as Bill C-30, the groups said.
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“(We are) optimistic about the recent introduction of the comprehensive Bill C-49, which will amend the Canada Transportation Act,” the groups said in a joint news release issued May 23.
However, they also have concerns about the amended act, Bill C-49, being passed in time to cover the transportation of crops in 2017.
“The extension of Bill C-30, The Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, should be considered if the new legislation is delayed.”
Bill C-49 was tabled in Parliament in May but some observers fear it is unlikely to be passed before Aug. 1, the first day of the 2017-18 crop year.
Sask Wheat chair Bill Gehl said the bill contains several measures that should benefit farmers by ensuring fair and consistent access to rail transportation services.
However, delays in its passage could prove costly to western Canadian farmers, particularly if the bill is not passed quickly.
Aug. 1 is also the date when existing provisions contained in Bill C-30 are due to expire, including extended interswitching rules and the ability to impose mandatory minimum grain shipping volumes.
“What farmers need now is for this legislation (Bill C-49) to be passed and the regulations enacted so we are able get our grain to our customers in Canada and abroad,” Gehl said.
“If the legislation is delayed or the regulations are not in place soon, Sask Wheat would like to see the government extend the provisions of Bill C-30 to cover the 2017 harvest.”
APAS president Todd Lewis said a similar message was recently delivered to federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay in Calgary.
“The current government wants to see speedy passage of Bill C-49, and we’re hoping for the same thing, but certainly there could be a gap there,” he said.
“The government has to be cognizant of the fact that if we end up in a bad situation, they (have to ) be ready to act quickly.”
As far as an extension of Bill C-30 is concerned, “they didn’t say it was off the table, but they’re certainly not giving any signals that they’re going to do that.”
As it stands, Bill C-49 proposes new requirements for railways to disclose data and increase transparency on performance measurements, service and rates.
It would also retain railway revenue caps, but would change the way they are calculated.
Among other things, containerized grain would no longer be in-cluded in revenue cap calculations.
Existing interswitching provisions would also be replaced with long-haul interswitching, which would potentially apply to grain shipments that are moved up to 1,200 kilometres.
Shippers contacted by The Western Producer said they need to learn more about proposed long-haul interswitching provisions before assessing their impact.
Lewis echoed those comments, suggesting that some shippers fear the proposed long-haul interswitching regime would limit the access to interswitching.
SaskBarley chair Jason Skotheim offered a similar view, saying his organization is encouraged that Ottawa has listened to shippers’ concerns. However, the barley industry needs “further clarification on how the price protection currently provided by the MRE will be impacted by the removal of interswitching and containerized goods from the calculation and by the proposed methodology re-forms,” he said.
