THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011
VOL. 89 | NO. 34 | $3.75
ARE IN THE FIELD |WHAT FARMERS SEEING? P4, 5
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
CWB | DEBATE
|
WWW.PRODUCER.COM
THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION
Wheat board producer meetings called biased BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM
access=subscriber section=news,none,none
CWB PRODUCER MEETINGS, PAGE 2 »
Paul Laroque positions the last piece of the bottom section of a 9,000 bushel hopper-bottom grain bin south of Herronton, Alta. Laroque and Shane Bashford were helping Curtis Kardash from Kardy Construction add four more units to the five bins already at that location. Owned by Palin farms, the bins will be ready for this fall’s harvest. | MIKE STURK PHOTO
u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv.:%
GRAIN TRANSPORTATION | RAIL SERVICE
Feds move on rail reforms Action on recommendations | Framework service agreement a key item BY BRIAN CROSS SASKATOON NEWSROOM
Ottawa will soon take steps to address farmers’ concerns over poor rail service, say officials from Transport Canada. Transport department spokesperson Melanie Quesnel has confirmed that the federal government plans to launch a six-month process aimed at improving rail services and implementing recommendations from the Rail Freight Service Review, which was completed earlier this year. The process is expected to result in a streamlined system for resolving disputes between shippers and railways and develop a template service agreement outlining service standards that shippers can expect from railway companies. The measures are part of a commercial approach to improving rail
services, which was a key recommendation contained in the Rail Freight Service Review’s final report, released in March. “The government agrees with the panel that the commercial approach is the best way to improve relationships between railways and stakeholders across the entire rail freight supply chain,” said Quesnel. Industry sources say the template service agreement could include guidelines on a variety of items including acceptable shipping times, shipper and rail company responsibilities and monetary penalties that could be applied to either party if they fail to meet contractual obligations. Richard Phillips, executive director with the Grain Growers of Canada, said his organization met with transportation officials last week in Ottawa and was briefed on the plans.
“Transport Canada people told us very, very clearly … ‘we understand how important this is and … we’re working on it’,” he said. Poor rail service has been an ongoing concern for the western Canadian grain industry. GGC has lobbied for service changes that would result in more responsive service, better rail car availability and more predictable delivery times to port. Phillips said Canadian exporters, including those in the pulse and special crops industries, are often unable to cash in on spot premium markets because there is no guarantee of timely rail service. Failure to meet contracted delivery dates can result in financial penalties for shippers, a cost that is often passed on to primary producers. access=subscriber section=news,none,none
OTTAWA TO MOVE, PAGE 2 »
AUGUST 25, 2011 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4 The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Inc. Publisher, Larry Hertz Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240; Registration No. 10676
The Canadian Wheat Board is under fire for the way it conducted a series of seven producer meetings. Some farmers attending the events said the CWB didn’t allow both sides of the debate to have their say. “The meeting in Regina was really self-promotional propaganda featuring just one side,” said Franck Groeneweg, a grower from Edgeley, Sask., who is also a director of the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission. Bill Cooper, a retired farmer from Foam Lake, Sask., a founding member of North East Terminal and former executive director of the Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association, echoed that sentiment. “They just had the board members there that supported the retention of the monopoly and no other speakers,” he said. “They just talked about how great the board was.” CWB chair Allen Oberg said the meetings were purposely lopsided. “The idea was not to have a debate or a balanced presentation. The idea was to inform farmers about the implications of losing the single desk. It wasn’t to present the government view.” Groeneweg said the CWB is violating a directive issued by federal cabinet in 2006 ordering the CWB to stop spending directly or indirectly on advocating the retention of its monopoly powers, a directive referred to by board supporters as a gag order. “From what I saw at the meeting in Regina, you couldn’t be any further from not respecting that gag order.” Cooper said the spirit of the directive was also violated in the Saskatoon meeting, but that doesn’t bother him. “I don’t put much stake in that. Let them get out there and say what they like, but let’s speak the truth,” he said. Cooper said directors used fear mongering tactics, like telling farmers that producer cars wouldn’t exist if the CWB lost its monopoly. He said that is a ridiculous statement given that producer car legislation resides under the Canada Grain Act and is administered by the Canadian Grain Commission, not the CWB.