Public Parliament Hill hearings could begin as early as late November on government legislation to enhance shippers’ rights in disputes with the railways.
Last week, transport minister Lawrence Cannon reintroduced what had been bill C-58 at the same stage it was at when the government ended the last session of Parliament to start a new one Oct. 16.
At that point, all unapproved government legislation died.
The new bill, C-8, is deemed to have received second reading approval in principle as C-58 had done and has been referred to the House of Commons committee on transport, infrastructure and communities for study and public hearings.
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The committee will organize and decide its fall agenda when MPs return to Parliament Hill Nov. 13 after this week’s parliamentary break.
It is expected the new bill will receive high priority because shipper groups pressured MPs to move quickly. The railways have been less enthused, insisting the enhanced shipper rights bill is unnecessary.
It would amend the Canadian Transportation Act to, among other things:
- Allow groups of shippers rather than only individuals to ask for final offer arbitration to resolve disputes over rates or service.
- Require railways to publish lists of sidings available for producer car loading and force them to give 60 days notice before removing the sidings from the list.
- Remove the requirement that substantial commercial harm has to be proven before a shipper can ask the Canadian Transportation Agency for relief.
- Permit the CTA to investigate whether fees and conditions for incidental services are reasonable.
- Require at least 30 days notice for railway freight rate increases instead of the 20 day notice now required.
And shippers who have lobbied MPs for new legislation say one of the most important parts of the bill is a requirement that within 30 days of the bill becoming law, the government would launch a full review of railway service.
MPs last week said they expect the bill to make it through Parliament quickly.
“I travelled in Western Canada a lot this summer and I can tell you that the issue most often raised with me was rail service and branch line abandonment,” Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter said in a Nov. 1 interview. “Producers are feeling that the balance of power swings way too much to the railway side.”
