Sitting at the head of a massive, shiny board table in a major law firm’s plush conference room and facing about a dozen microphones and reporters, Gordon Wallace could be forgiven for feeling a little nervous.
“I’m not sure what I’m getting myself into,” the grain farmer from Unity, Sask., said with a bit a smile.
Wallace and his legal team had just announced a lawsuit against the two national railways, the federal government and the Canadian Transportation Agency, alleging farmers have been overcharged for rail freight for at least two decades.
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The lawsuit, which lawyers hope to have certified as a class action suit, seeks restitution from the railways.
If the suit is successful, it could potentially involve a repayment to farmers of well over $1 billion.
Wallace, who farms 42 quarter-sections with his two brothers in west-central Saskatchewan, said he has always followed transportation issues with interest, but had never thought about getting involved in the issue.
“I like to complain,” he said.
“This time I decided to do something about it.”
What finally prompted him to take action was the news that in 2007-08, the railways were paid $70 million more to cover the costs of maintaining grain hopper cars than they actually spent.
That works out to $2.60 per tonne.
Wallace said it’s frustrating that even though rail transportation is so important for grain farmers’ business and represents such a significant cost, producers have virtually no influence in setting rates.
“We are a captive customer and have no say in the regulation or determination of these freight rates,” he said.
“Decisions get made at a higher level that pertain to our business and at the grassroots level, we never see it.”
He added the lawsuit will be a tremendous learning experience for him, which is part of the attraction of proceeding.
Wallace described himself as a catalyst for a class action suit, adding the case will be abandoned if the courts reject the application to make it a class action.
He expects wide support from farmers for the suit.
“I can’t see why farmers wouldn’t want to get involved to try to recoup their losses,” he said.
“It’s a no-lose situation. The money’s already gone and anything we can do to lower our freight rates is a benefit.”
Under Saskatchewan law, all grain farmers in Western Canada would automatically be included in the case if the courts certify it as a class action suit.
Those not interested would have to indicate their desire to drop out.
