SASKATOON – While a coalition of prairie farm groups keeps trying to sink the SEO transportation plan, the senior executive officers who put the deal together are scrambling to shore up support for the proposal.
The first serious crack appeared within the committee during a Dec. 18 conference call. While most committee members re-affirmed their support for the controversial reform package, there was one notable exception.
A SEO member who asked for anonymity said a press release to be issued this week will indicate that the Canadian Wheat Board no longer endorses the plan whole-heartedly.
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The agreement has been described by committee members as a fragile consensus which will fall apart if tinkered with.
Despite those warnings, CWB chief commissioner Lorne Hehn said the board made it clear during the conference call that while it supports most of the agreement, it must break ranks on two key issues.
“We have a great deal of concern about farmers’ concerns as they relate to car ownership and the whole notion of some sort of a formal review at the end a 10-year period,” said Hehn.
The agreement proposes the 13,000 government-owned rail cars be sold to the railways for $100 million. Farmers would pay an additional $1 a tonne on freight rates for five years to reimburse the railways. It also proposes that after a 10-year cap, freight rates on grain would become fully commercial.
Farm groups like the Sask-atchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the National Farmers Union and the CWB’s producer advisory committee want the cars to be owned by farmers or the wheat board.
They fear that fully commercial rates will mean much higher rates, given the lack of competition between railways.
The SEO agreement was the subject of much lobbying and discussion last week.
- The three prairie pools issued a statement saying the agreement will save farmers money and warning it would be a tragedy if it is not implemented.
- After listening to a presentation from pool officials, the wheat board’s advisory committee voted unanimously to reject the SEO plan.
- SARM officials met with the board of Sask Pool and tried unsuccessfully to find common ground on the car ownership issue.
