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REVIEW R

East Central Alberta R 72 pt

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Volume 103 No. 14

Changes in legislation seek to address rail challenges Katie Davis News Reporter

The Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act was introduced in Parliament to address grain transport and rail capacity issues in western Canada, noted a Governement of Canada press release on Wednesday, March 26. Speaking to Parliament in Ottawa, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Transportation Minister Lisa Raitt said that the amendments to the Canada Transportation Act and Grain Act would increase transparency within the supply chain, encourage stronger contracts between shippers and producers and prioritize grain handling and shipping efficiency. The press release also highlighted steps to address medium and longer-term consequences of extreme cold weather and higher crop yields, with efforts to ensure more timely data and monitoring of grain movements by railway companies. Of the legislation, Alberta’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Verlyn Olson said he was pleased such concerns were being addressed. The release provided some statistics on the booming yield of the past year’s crop, which came in at 76 billion tonnes, or 50 per cent higher yield than average. It was noted that this was a significant strain on the transportation system, which in recent months has been a major cause for concern for farmers. “The legislation incorporates several improvements recommended by Alberta, including an extension of interswitching distances to allow shippers greater access to service from more than one rail company, provisions to clearly define supply chain service requirements, increased reporting of commodity movements and enhanced federal authority to more quickly address inadequate service during

INDEX Coronation news ...................... 2 Parliament/Letters .................... 4 4H Club news........................... 5 Obituaries ................................ 7 Agriculture ........................ 8 - 10 Curling news .......................... 11 Hanna theatre ....................... 12 Real Estate/Homes ................. 13 Classifieds/Careers ......... 14 - 16 Business Directory ................. 16

Thursday, April 3, 2014

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Kearra Landon got groovy with her ‘50’s Dream’ bronze interpretive skate during the Hanna Figure Skating Club’s Carnival, held at the Hanna Arena on Saturday, March 29. ECA Review/K. Davis

extraordinary circumstances,” Olson said.

The other side In response to the new legislation, the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association (WCWGA) distributed a press release on March 27 outlining that while the legislation does have some positive elements, it does not address the nucleus of the grain shipping capacity issue. “These measures do not adequately tackle the backlog in grain shipments,” said Levi Wood, President of the Wheat Growers, in the release. “They also do not position our industry to meet the longterm needs of prairie farmers or our customers.” One of the central complaints outlined by the Wheat Growers press release was the fixed minimum grain shipping requirement at one million tonnes per week, or 11,000 railcars, effective from April 7 to August 3, 2014. The Wheat Growers noted that this would entail grain carryout on prairie farms exceeding 20 million tonnes in advance of the next harvest, resulting in the continued presence of severe price discounts, or wide basis levels. “Grain prices to farmers will remain artificially depressed until the backlog is cleared up and the elevator system has the capacity available to offer competitive bids for our grain,” said Wood. The Wheat Growers had recommended a minimum shipment of 1.2 million tonnes, or 13,000 railcars. Other recommendations not included in the legislation were incentive-based revenue cap, expanded shipping capacity long-term and steps that would see shortlines and other operators given the ability to add capacity to the shipping network if Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) rail lines are unwilling or unable to meet market demand.

FLYERS

An unconventional performance

Oilfield Services Directory

Local curler wins gold

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Annual Spring Parts Sale – April 1st to April 15th

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