Story Posted: November 15, 2010

Farmers put firm demands in front of Rail Service Review Panel

Canadian Canola Growers Association and Grain Growers of Canada have submitted their final comments to the Rail Service Review Panel about the urgency for change in Canadian rail service. "This panel has an opportunity to make real changes and fix a chronically malfunctioning sector," says Ed Schafer, President of the Canadian Canola Growers Association.

"Rail service is one of most critical issues facing not only grain farmers, but our entire sector," said Doug Robertson, President of the Grain Growers of Canada. "We have one shot at getting the rules and regulations in place to ensure we can be more competitive exporters into the future."

Both groups are frustrated with the lack of immediate, concrete actions contained in the panel's interim recommendations. In their response to the panel's Interim Report the groups called for:

• A commitment to regulate service levels and an immediate start to the regulatory process so that effective action is not delayed until a similar, lengthy review begins again in 2013 or even later,
• The implementation of consequences for railway non-performance, similar to the non-performance penalties that shippers now face, and
• The establishment of an independent monitoring and evaluation body to measure whether actual performance matches the expectations of shippers, railways and policy makers.

"The unpredictability of our shipping environment is causing unnecessary risk margins to be taken by exporters, which come directly off our grain prices," said Robertson. "We work hard as farmers to produce the grain and it is incredibly frustrating when we don't see it get to market in a timely manner."

Earlier this week, the Grain Growers and Canola Growers jointly submitted their final recommendations to the Rail Service Review Panel. These recommendations are available, in full, at www.ggc-pgc.ca.

The panel is expected to provide a final report in December. The Canola Growers and the Grain Growers are hopeful that meaningful change will be found within the panel's final report.

The Canadian Canola Growers Association and the Grain Growers of Canada, jointly represent over 80,000 successful cereal and oilseed producers from across the country.

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