OTTAWA (Staff) – Unless the federal government encourages the use of the Canadian transportation system to move export grain, the Western Canadian economy will be badly damaged, a grain workers union leader warned MPs last week.
Henry Kancs, secretary-treasurer of the west coast Grain Workers Union, told a Commons committee June 7 that predictions of millions of tonnes of grain heading south once grain transportation is deregulated would be a nightmare.
Hundreds of rail and port grain handling jobs would disappear, Canadian transportation costs for remaining traffic would increase, the Canadian transportation system would become less cost-efficient and captive Canadian farmers would suffer.
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“It is not good for us, not good for Canada,” said Kancs. Maintaining and using a Canadian system should be a government priority.
Crow implications studied
Speaking to the committee studying implications of the demise of the Crow Benefit, Kancs said Canada should not throw the grain system entirely to market forces. The benefit paid half the costs of shipping grain to port.
Players in the system must learn to co-operate better to keep the system operating efficiently for everyone’s benefit, said Kancs.
And there must be controls to make sure the players, including the railways, live up to their responsibilities.
The union spokesperson told MPs 60 grain handlers have already been laid off in Vancouver because the railways say they do not have sufficient cars and engines to move the required grain.
“If this is happening before Aug. 1, what is going to happen after Aug. 1?”
Kancs represents 750 grain workers in Vancouver and Prince Rupert, the two west coast ports for exporting grain out of Canada.
When questioned about the role of unions in creating system problems and inefficiencies, he said there will be a need for more co-operation in the future and more flexibility in work rules. Export customers do not understand it when product flow is disrupted by strikes or lock-outs.
“Labor problems do not hamper efficiency,” he said. “Labor-management breakdowns do cause efficiency problems.”
