The two railways that lost their bid to gain running rights on CN Rail track probably won’t appeal the Canadian Transportation Agency’s decision.
Omnitrax Canada and Ferroequus Railway Co. Ltd. have until June 3 to decide whether to launch a formal
legal appeal.
In its May 3 ruling, the agency said the Canada Transportation Act doesn’t give railways the right to solicit freight traffic such as grain on another railway’s lines.
In interviews last week, senior officials with the two rail companies weren’t ready to rule out an appeal, but indicated they were leaning
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against it.
“It’s possible we may appeal, but I’m not inclined to do that,” said Omnitrax chief operating officer Gary Rennick.
He said many farmers, farm organizations and grain shippers have called the railway and urged it to do something to reverse the CTA’s ruling.
But he said a legal challenge could take years and create more uncertainty. It may make more sense, he added, to wait for the report of the CTA review panel studying rail competition issues, due to be released at the end of June.
Depending on what the panel says, those who are concerned about the issue can then lobby politicians one way or the other.
Ferroequus president Tom Payne said May 23 his company hadn’t decided what to do. But he said a strong argument can be made that it’s better to leave the decision as it stands.
“At least it clarifies for everybody where things are, then you just have to deal with them,” he said. “You know what the ground rules are.”
Meanwhile, a broad coalition of prairie farm groups discussed the issue in a teleconference call last week and pledged their continued support for the two railways’ efforts to gain running rights on CN track.
“We decided to support them in whatever would create competition and be good for Western Canada,” said Ron Gleim, a farmer from Chaplin, Sask., and chair of the Western Rail Coalition.
Ian McCreary, chair of the Canadian Wheat Board’s transportation committee, said the CTA’s ruling provides evidence that the legislation doesn’t provide rail competition.
The best course of action might be to accept that decision and press Ottawa for changes to the legislation, he added.
“That seems to be the dominant line of thinking at this point.”
Sinclair Harrison, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, said that while some people are holding out hope that the CTA review panel will resolve the issue, he thinks it will be simply another report.
What’s needed is a concerted effort to convince the federal government to do something right now to allow running rights, he said.
