The University of Saskatchewan and the provincial government are rushing to hire a transportation analyst while rail policy is still a pressing public concern.
“It’s an issue that needs to be addressed now,” said university president George Ivany. “This stuff is unfolding so rapidly and it’s so critical for Saskatchewan that waiting two or three years would mean we’re totally out of the picture.”
The Saskatchewan agriculture department is giving the university $500,000 to create a chair in transportation economics. The money will allow the agricultural economics department to hire now, rather than having to wait for another professor to retire to create a position.
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The department hopes to fill the position in what the university considers to be “almost immediately,” Ivany said. That means by early 1999.
Ag economist Richard Gray said the new person will be able to analyze regulatory systems for ideas that could be applied to railways.
For example, telephone systems have been deregulated to allow companies to use each other’s lines to compete, much in the way many farmers would like to see the private rail lines opened to competition.
Gray said joint running rights, a system that would allow many rail companies to have access to the same lines, is an idea with much support but little academic analysis.
Gray said the new economist will be able to concentrate on fleshing out areas like joint running rights. “Then the politicians and the public can pick the options,” he said.
Agriculture minister Eric Upshall said the government needs to have good economic analysis of transportation regulations in order to lobby for the best structures to protect Saskatchewan farmers.
“We have to be able to analyze the effects of an action,” said Upshall.
“The federal government is allowing (deregulation) to happen without much responsibility and we have to assure we can pinpoint where the responsibilities are, what the problems are.”
