The grain transportation system has been urged to deal with the challenges it faces when working with grain at west coast ports.  |  File photo

Focus turns to improving rail

When the elephants fight, the grass suffers. — African proverb Farmers can feel like they’re a badly bashed patch of turf whenever the three elephants of the rail system — the railway companies, the unions and the government — lock tusks and fight for dominance. Related stories: WP rail labour dispute coverage Despite that feeling, […] Read more

It’s important to know if other countries have found a better way to manage their rail transportation systems’ vulnerability to disruption.  |  Paul Yanko photo

Rail labour disputes hold sharp knife against thin throat

Holding a knife to the throat of Canada has become a predictable national dysfunction. The railroad companies and their unions just did that to farmers, with both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City simultaneously slashing national jugular veins before the federal government stepped in to end the escalating labour dispute. Related stories: WP rail […] Read more



An aerial shot of the Port of Churchill. | File photo

Year-round port proposed for Hudson Bay

Move over Churchill. Another port proposal would see cargo flow in and out of Western Canada through Hudson Bay. The Neestanan Project wants a second, year-round port built on its shores. The Neestanan (Cree for “all of us”) Utility Corridor is an Indigenous-led effort to develop a trade corridor across the northern region of the […] Read more

Hopes are running high for the Port of Churchill, but securing grain traffic for the facility faces obstacles, including lack of interest from grain companies, which have their own terminals on the West Coast and at Thunder Bay.  |  File photo

Churchill charts new course

Glacier FarmMedia – It’s been decades since there’s been this kind of optimism around the Port of Churchill and how it could be developed into a transportation hub. The money is flowing. Last month, Manitoba premier Wab Kinew announced $60 million in provincial and federal funds to get the Hudson Bay Railway between The Pas […] Read more