Interesting debate in Parliament on Wednesday Feb
12/14
Hunter Harison of CP should have a red face to say the
least...
"Frustration flares in committee as railways blame
weather for grain crisis
2014-02-12 22:55 , Kelsey Johnson
ipolitics
After months of building tension over a seemingly
intractable and economically devastating grain
shipping backlog, finger pointing over the crisis broke
into open hostility in Ottawa Wednesday.
In an appearance before the House agriculture
committee, Canada’s two national railways said the
massive backlog wreaking havoc across the Prairies
could largely be blamed on cold weather.
“Sustained cold below -25 degrees is a tipping point
for railway operations,” Canadian Pacific Vice President
Michael Murphy said.
The extreme cold, caused by this winter’s polar vortex
that has hammered much of North America, has forced
the railways to shorten trains, Canadian Pacific Director
of Government Affairs Robert Taylor explained. In
warmer temperatures, Canadian Pacific (CP) could run
trains as long as 14,000 feet. Right now, because of
the frigid temperatures, trains are half that length or
around 7,000 feet.
But Conservative MP and former Saskatchewan farmer
Randy Hoback argued in a tense tirade that capacity
was also an issue.
“When I hear the arguments here that you don’t need
more locomotives, I disagree with you. Capacity is the
issue here even when it’s cold!” he said, his voice
steadily rising.
“You’re actually going to do severe damage to the
economy of Western Canada if you don’t smarten up!”
the typically even-tempered MP almost shouted. The
railway representatives attempted to interject but
ultimately waited quietly for Hoback to finish.
The cold weather isn’t the only thing hampering grain
movement, the railways said. The sheer size of this
year’s crop – weighing at 95 million tonnes – is also
causing unforseen headaches.
“This is a record crop,” CN assistant VP David Miller
said in his testimony. “Not only is it a record crop, but
it’s a crop few saw coming, even as the harvest was
starting,” he said.
Still, Miller said, while CN managed to move a record
amount of grain in the fall, as of December things have
definitely gotten off track.
CN has added 1,000 more cars to its fleet to deal with
the backlog, Miller said. The railway has also pulled
extra cars up from the United States and ordered more
locomotives.
As soon as the cold weather breaks, he added, CN will
be trying to move as much grain and other backlogged
commodities as fast as possible. The company, Miller
insisted, is “absolutely” taking the backlog and the
soaring growth in Western Canada seriously.
While some members of the committee acknowledged
the size of the crop could be problematic, few were
buying the railway’s complaints about the weather.
“As some of my colleagues have said before, we’re in
Canada. And, cold weather typically falls along with the
name Canada right? It should be nothing new to us,”
Conservative MP Bob Zimmer said.
“So, what happens if this is a prolonged stint of cold
weather? Are we going to have the same issues this
time next year, and the next year following that?,” he
asked.
Nor was there much sympathy for CP. In earlier
testimony by the Alberta Federation of Agriculture, the
committee was told CP had parked 400 locomotives
and 2,700 grain cars and laid off 4,500 workers.
While Canadian Pacific skirted the cuts issue, they
insisted the number of resources for grain had not
changed. “The fleet size we have is the same size we
were dealing with in the fall, when we were moving
record amounts of grain,” Murphy said.
While this year’s crop is huge, Hoback said poor rail
service is not a new problem.
“When I was farming in 2000 to 2004, we always had
issues of the trains not showing up on time,” he said,
“Then you’d blame the wheat board or somebody else,
but the reality you never had the capacity then.”
Orders for grain cars continue to pour in across the
prairies – with outstanding requests topping an
unprecedented 51,000 car – farmers, grain companies
and politicians are furious.
Many farmers haven’t been paid for this year’s crop
because the backlog has made it almost impossible to
deliver grain. That’s led to cash-flow problems for
some farmers, who haven’t been able to pay off last
year’s loans.
And, with the backlog stretching into its fourth month
time is running out.
Spring road bans will soon be put in place across the
Prairies. The annual restrictions set axle weight limits
for vehicles moving on certain roads in an effort to
reduce the damage heavier loads can cause during the
spring thaw.
Meanwhile, farmers in Manitoba’s low lying Red River
valley are anxious of floods, particularly given the
amount of snow dumped on the Prairies this winter.
With grain still sitting in fields, farmers could lose their
crops completely if the region should flood.
Industry now estimates the backlog could cost farmers
and grain companies more than $2 billion before it’s
cleared up.
Another $6.5 billion is expected to be tied up in the
more than 20 million tonnes of grain that will likely
carry over into the next crop year.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has ordered the railways
to come up with a short term plan to ease the backlog
by February 24. In the interim, the railways said they
have been meeting with both the Minister and the
Minister of Transport at least once a week."
Cheers!
12/14
Hunter Harison of CP should have a red face to say the
least...
"Frustration flares in committee as railways blame
weather for grain crisis
2014-02-12 22:55 , Kelsey Johnson
ipolitics
After months of building tension over a seemingly
intractable and economically devastating grain
shipping backlog, finger pointing over the crisis broke
into open hostility in Ottawa Wednesday.
In an appearance before the House agriculture
committee, Canada’s two national railways said the
massive backlog wreaking havoc across the Prairies
could largely be blamed on cold weather.
“Sustained cold below -25 degrees is a tipping point
for railway operations,” Canadian Pacific Vice President
Michael Murphy said.
The extreme cold, caused by this winter’s polar vortex
that has hammered much of North America, has forced
the railways to shorten trains, Canadian Pacific Director
of Government Affairs Robert Taylor explained. In
warmer temperatures, Canadian Pacific (CP) could run
trains as long as 14,000 feet. Right now, because of
the frigid temperatures, trains are half that length or
around 7,000 feet.
But Conservative MP and former Saskatchewan farmer
Randy Hoback argued in a tense tirade that capacity
was also an issue.
“When I hear the arguments here that you don’t need
more locomotives, I disagree with you. Capacity is the
issue here even when it’s cold!” he said, his voice
steadily rising.
“You’re actually going to do severe damage to the
economy of Western Canada if you don’t smarten up!”
the typically even-tempered MP almost shouted. The
railway representatives attempted to interject but
ultimately waited quietly for Hoback to finish.
The cold weather isn’t the only thing hampering grain
movement, the railways said. The sheer size of this
year’s crop – weighing at 95 million tonnes – is also
causing unforseen headaches.
“This is a record crop,” CN assistant VP David Miller
said in his testimony. “Not only is it a record crop, but
it’s a crop few saw coming, even as the harvest was
starting,” he said.
Still, Miller said, while CN managed to move a record
amount of grain in the fall, as of December things have
definitely gotten off track.
CN has added 1,000 more cars to its fleet to deal with
the backlog, Miller said. The railway has also pulled
extra cars up from the United States and ordered more
locomotives.
As soon as the cold weather breaks, he added, CN will
be trying to move as much grain and other backlogged
commodities as fast as possible. The company, Miller
insisted, is “absolutely” taking the backlog and the
soaring growth in Western Canada seriously.
While some members of the committee acknowledged
the size of the crop could be problematic, few were
buying the railway’s complaints about the weather.
“As some of my colleagues have said before, we’re in
Canada. And, cold weather typically falls along with the
name Canada right? It should be nothing new to us,”
Conservative MP Bob Zimmer said.
“So, what happens if this is a prolonged stint of cold
weather? Are we going to have the same issues this
time next year, and the next year following that?,” he
asked.
Nor was there much sympathy for CP. In earlier
testimony by the Alberta Federation of Agriculture, the
committee was told CP had parked 400 locomotives
and 2,700 grain cars and laid off 4,500 workers.
While Canadian Pacific skirted the cuts issue, they
insisted the number of resources for grain had not
changed. “The fleet size we have is the same size we
were dealing with in the fall, when we were moving
record amounts of grain,” Murphy said.
While this year’s crop is huge, Hoback said poor rail
service is not a new problem.
“When I was farming in 2000 to 2004, we always had
issues of the trains not showing up on time,” he said,
“Then you’d blame the wheat board or somebody else,
but the reality you never had the capacity then.”
Orders for grain cars continue to pour in across the
prairies – with outstanding requests topping an
unprecedented 51,000 car – farmers, grain companies
and politicians are furious.
Many farmers haven’t been paid for this year’s crop
because the backlog has made it almost impossible to
deliver grain. That’s led to cash-flow problems for
some farmers, who haven’t been able to pay off last
year’s loans.
And, with the backlog stretching into its fourth month
time is running out.
Spring road bans will soon be put in place across the
Prairies. The annual restrictions set axle weight limits
for vehicles moving on certain roads in an effort to
reduce the damage heavier loads can cause during the
spring thaw.
Meanwhile, farmers in Manitoba’s low lying Red River
valley are anxious of floods, particularly given the
amount of snow dumped on the Prairies this winter.
With grain still sitting in fields, farmers could lose their
crops completely if the region should flood.
Industry now estimates the backlog could cost farmers
and grain companies more than $2 billion before it’s
cleared up.
Another $6.5 billion is expected to be tied up in the
more than 20 million tonnes of grain that will likely
carry over into the next crop year.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has ordered the railways
to come up with a short term plan to ease the backlog
by February 24. In the interim, the railways said they
have been meeting with both the Minister and the
Minister of Transport at least once a week."
Cheers!