Two of Canada’s western prairie provinces, Saskatchewan and Alberta, are calling on the federal government to ease the backlog of grain, and facilitate talks between grain and rail companies about getting grain to port.
Saskatchewan’s Economy Minister Bill Boyd recently led a delegation that met with Canadian National and Canadian Pacific rail officials to talk about ways to get a backlog of grain moving.
Boyd said Monday (February 24) that the railway companies told him they’re adding “thousands more grain cars per week” and will keep that up until at least December.
Despite that, Boyd said there still need to be agreements, with penalties, for both grain companies and railways to ensure service levels.
“Both of them were saying, ‘Well, we’re not sure the other side is willing to negotiate,”‘ Boyd told reporters at the legislature Monday. “So we think that there needs to be someone like the federal government overseeing those negotiations.”
According to the Globe and Mail newspaper Canada’s Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz responded by saying all options are on the table, but criticized rail companies for insufficiently addressing the delays.
More information:
CBC News – Sask. wants federal action to clear grain backlog – here
Globe and Mail – Alberta, Saskatchewan seek federal help easing backlog of Prairie grain – here
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