The federal competition bureau should force grain companies to sell their disused elevators to farmers and communities that want to buy them, says the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
Last week SARM formally asked the competition bureau to investigate the prairie wooden elevator system.
“The way it appears now, the grain companies are not going to be any help,” said SARM president Sinclair Harrison at the Saskatoon regional June meeting.
Harrison said his organization turned to the competition bureau because grain companies have not wanted to see others take over their facilities.
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“They’re trying to make wooden elevators look inefficient and make the inland terminals look like the way of the future,” said Harrison.
Last year SARM organized a meeting to talk to grain companies about farmers taking over elevators. But no one from the grain companies showed up, Harrison said.
Then SARM met twice with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, but couldn’t agree on the issue, Harrison said.
If the competition bureau agrees to investigate the wooden elevator system, grain companies would have to justify their actions.
Harrison said companies have been willing to transfer elevator ownership, but only if the buyers promise to never use them as grain elevators. They will allow them to be used as tourist attractions, but not for farmers to move their grain.
“We don’t need a lot of historical elevators around the country,” said Harrison. “We need working elevators.”
SARM should hear within weeks whether the competition bureau will investigate.
