The Saskatchewan legislature passed a motion March 3 that calls on Ottawa to introduce emergency legislation to resolve the grain transportation crisis.
Premier Brad Wall said the province supports legislative intervention, whether it is regulation, order-in-council or legislation.
“We’re definitively saying the federal government should look at all of its legislative options,” he told reporters in Regina after introducing the motion.
Saskatchewan wants mandatory service level agreements and penalties, and Wall said the federal government will have to act where the companies wouldn’t.
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“Another option might be a legislated mandate on the size of the fleet,” Wall said.
“We’re not picky, just do something, get something done in terms of legislation.”
He agreed that both the federal and provincial conservative governments find themselves in the strange position of having to intervene in an economic sector.
However, he also said the market isn’t that free with only two major railways, and the interests of the nation should outweigh the interests of the companies when it comes to moving food.
An estimated five million tonnes of Saskatchewan grain are waiting to move.
Wall said Canada’s credibility as a food supplier is on the line. He recalled a meeting with a South Asian miller who told him he didn’t even bother calling Canada in December and January because there are questions of reliability.
Economy minister Bill Boyd was scheduled to meet with BNSF railway officials in Fort Worth, Texas, March 4 to discuss how more grain could move south through Northgate at the border.
The opposition NDP members said they supported the motion and Saskatchewan farmers.
