There are many factors that can affect how quickly harvested grain moves from a remote farm location in Western Canada to an outbound ocean vessel on Canada’s West Coast. According to sources in the grain industry, the main factors behind this year’s shipment delays aren’t much different than usual — bad weather and bad industry […] Read more
Tag Archives grain transportation
Bill C-49 helps railways farm farmers
Here we go again. Some prairie farmers cannot ship their grain while grain companies and their friends blame the railways for not getting the grain to port. After months of railway lobbying, the federal government is pushing new transportation legislation, claiming that Bill C-49 will punish the railways for neglecting grain shipments. Yet this legislation […] Read more
CP says grain movement is turning around
Canadian Pacific Railway’s letter to federal ministers says it is re-setting its network as it rebounds from February weather challenges. Train speed and overall throughput are both increasing, which is good for grain transport and other commodities, said the letter from CEO Keith Creel. The company has hauled more grain this crop year even with […] Read more
CN responds to gov’t with grain movement plan
Canadian National Railway has released its grain transportation response to federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay. The ministers had asked the two major railways to submit their plans to get grain moving by March 15. According to a March 14 update posted on CN’s website, as per the ministers’ request, the […] Read more
‘Shipping season has been a disaster’
OTTAWA — The House of Commons agriculture committee was scheduled to hold an emergency meeting March 7 to discuss the grain transportation backlog, even though Parliament is not sitting this week. Four committee members representing both the Conservative and NDP opposition forced the meeting after delivering a request to the committee clerk March 1. That […] Read more
Grain movement hearing produces few results
An emergency meeting of the standing committee on agriculture in Ottawa this afternoon has ended with a decision to meet again March 19. Parliament is on a two-week break, but four Conservative and NDP committee members who supported farmers’ calls last week for action on the grain backlog forced the meeting. However, it was mostly […] Read more
CN promises to get grain moving
Canadian National Railway interim president Jean-Jacques Ruest says the company will clear grain backlogs across its network. In a news release issued March 7, Ruest said additional staff and equipment will be deployed. “We apologize for not meeting the expectations of our grain customers, nor our own high standards,” he said. “The entire CN team […] Read more
Farmers demand action on grain transportation
OTTAWA — Canadian grain farmers want a plan to get grain moving within the next two weeks. Representatives from regional and national organizations held a news conference on Parliament Hill yesterday to demand action on the rail bottleneck that threatens a repeat of 2013-14. “Parliament is going to take a two-week break. We need a […] Read more
‘Own-motion power’ amendment requested for transportation bill
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers asks Senate ag committee to change bill to allow Canadian Transportation Agency to investigate rail service issues on its own, without a shipper complaint
An organization that represents Saskatchewan pea, lentil, soybean and chickpea producers wants Ottawa to amend Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, to ensure greater transparency and “foster a more effective and higher functioning transportation system for farmers in province.” In a Feb. 21 news release, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers said Bill C-49 should be amended to provide […] Read more
‘Own-motion power’ amendment requested for transport bill
An organization that represents Saskatchewan pea, lentil, soybean and chickpea producers wants Ottawa to amend Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, to ensure greater transparency and “foster a more effective and higher functioning transportation system for farmers in province.” In a Feb 21 news release, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers said Bill C-49 should be amended to […] Read more
