Liberal MPs are standing firmly with shippers – including farmers, foresters and miners – who are still waiting for concrete action from the Harper Conservatives on the Freight Rail Service Review report, Liberal MPs said today.
“The final report of the Review Committee was delayed for months by this government,” said Liberal Transport Critic John McCallum. “The report was supposed to be public in December. However, it spent nearly three months on the Minister’s desk gathering dust.”
The government has finally announced that it will move to implement the recommendations of the review panel. While some railways have made important improvements to service standards, much is still left to be done, and a legislated framework to enforce service standards is still needed.
“We are encouraged by this development,” said Liberal Deputy Leader Ralph Goodale. “However, the devil is in the details, and we have yet to see any legislation from the government that would improve rail service for shippers.”
“The Liberal Party called on the government to take immediate legislative action to fix service deficiencies in mid-December,” said Liberal Agriculture Critic Wayne Easter. “Now, three months later, the Harper Conservatives have finally decided to take our advice and say they will legislate the recommendations of the review.”
The Conservative government still failed to take a position on a costing review for rail services. Many shippers are still feeling the crunch and point to high shipping fees as part of the problem.
“The last costing review was conducted in 1992,” concluded Mr. McCallum. “We need a modern costing review, with an up-to-date methodology that recognizes today’s market realities as well as the need of the railways to sustain their plant and equipment.”
