While the Conservative government refuses to act on the recommendations of the recent Rail Freight Service Review, Liberal MPs are standing firmly with shippers – including farmers, foresters and miners – in calling for immediate legislative action to fix the service deficiencies in Canada’s rail freight system.
“The shippers of virtually all commodities transported in bulk have complained for years that the railways over-charge and under-perform,” said Liberal Transport, Infrastructure & Communities Critic John McCallum.
“The Harper Conservatives are content to give the railways three more years to fix this long-lasting problem, but why wait three more years when the review panel has found the key issue is railway market power – and that’s not about to change.”
The government has been “reviewing” the rail service problems since 2007, and the October report of their Rail Service Review proves nothing much has changed. It found overall rail freight service to be inadequate, largely because market power is too concentrated in the hands of the railways.
The review disappointed the shippers of grain, oilseeds, pulse crops, forest products, minerals, chemicals, fertilizer, industrial goods and other bulk commodities by granting the railways an extra three years to implement improvements voluntarily.
“History tells us that only firm leadership from government will make the system work better for farmers and other shippers,” said Liberal Agriculture Critic Wayne Easter. “Given the conclusions of the Service Review, why wait three more years? The government should move quickly to put in place a regulatory system that will ensure a predictable level of service for rail customers across Canada.”
New legislation and regulation are needed to address the review’s findings, including:
- Better notice of service changes;
- Enforceable service agreements with all shippers;
- Practical dispute resolution procedures; and
- Stronger performance reporting.
“The Review is proof positive that the government’s lax approach does nothing for farmers or other shippers,” said Liberal Deputy Leader Ralph Goodale. “Legislation and regulations are the only ways to ensure rail service deficiencies are fixed. That’s what shippers are calling for, and that’s what the Liberal Party is calling for.”
