Railways fined for failing to meet grain targets
Kelsey Johnson
iPoltics
Jan 8, 2015
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co. have been fined by the federal government for their failure to move grain, the transport minister’s office said Wednesday.
A Transport Canada enforcement officer has determined CN missed two weeks of federally-mandated grain volume targets, Lauren Armstrong, spokeswoman for Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, said in an e-mail.
The officer, Armstrong said, found CN did not move enough grain the week of July 28 to August 3, nor did the railroad meet the minimum volumes the second week of September.
Canadian Pacific, the e-mail noted, also hadn’t moved enough grain the week of September 7 to 13. At the time, both railways were required to move 536,250 metric tonnes of grain each per week. Failure to comply risked fines of up to $100,000 per violation payable to the federal government.
A notice of violation has been issued to both companies, Armstrong said, Wednesday, with fines set at $50,000 per violation totalling $150,000. It is unclear how long CN and CP have to pay their respective fines.
Both CN and CP have yet to respond to requests for comment.
The federal fines come months after Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said last September CN had failed to move three weeks worth of federal grain volume targets – initially issued last March after millions of tonnes of Prairie grain was left stranded in bins and grain elevators across Western Canada for months. Canadian Pacific, she said at the time, continued to meet its targets.
The massive grain backlog has been blamed on major miscommunications across the supply chain, poor rail service, a record crop and frigid temperatures across Western Canada last winter. The crisis lead to severe cash flow problems for some farmers and rattled international confidence in Canadian grain markets. It was expected to cost the Canadian economy between $7.2 billion and $8.3 billion, according to federal estimates.
Both Raitt and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz came under heavy criticism in September after it was revealed the maximum penalties CN could face was $300,000. While federal penalties had initially been set in March at $100,000 per day, the figure was quietly reduced in May under the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act to $100,000 per violation – which both ministers now interpret as per week.
Wednesday’s revelations show neither CN nor CP have been fined the maximum penalty. The minister’s office has not said why the railways were not fined the maximum amount.
Both railways remain under federal orders to move 325,000 metric tonnes of grain each per week.
Kelsey Johnson
iPoltics
Jan 8, 2015
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co. have been fined by the federal government for their failure to move grain, the transport minister’s office said Wednesday.
A Transport Canada enforcement officer has determined CN missed two weeks of federally-mandated grain volume targets, Lauren Armstrong, spokeswoman for Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, said in an e-mail.
The officer, Armstrong said, found CN did not move enough grain the week of July 28 to August 3, nor did the railroad meet the minimum volumes the second week of September.
Canadian Pacific, the e-mail noted, also hadn’t moved enough grain the week of September 7 to 13. At the time, both railways were required to move 536,250 metric tonnes of grain each per week. Failure to comply risked fines of up to $100,000 per violation payable to the federal government.
A notice of violation has been issued to both companies, Armstrong said, Wednesday, with fines set at $50,000 per violation totalling $150,000. It is unclear how long CN and CP have to pay their respective fines.
Both CN and CP have yet to respond to requests for comment.
The federal fines come months after Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said last September CN had failed to move three weeks worth of federal grain volume targets – initially issued last March after millions of tonnes of Prairie grain was left stranded in bins and grain elevators across Western Canada for months. Canadian Pacific, she said at the time, continued to meet its targets.
The massive grain backlog has been blamed on major miscommunications across the supply chain, poor rail service, a record crop and frigid temperatures across Western Canada last winter. The crisis lead to severe cash flow problems for some farmers and rattled international confidence in Canadian grain markets. It was expected to cost the Canadian economy between $7.2 billion and $8.3 billion, according to federal estimates.
Both Raitt and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz came under heavy criticism in September after it was revealed the maximum penalties CN could face was $300,000. While federal penalties had initially been set in March at $100,000 per day, the figure was quietly reduced in May under the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act to $100,000 per violation – which both ministers now interpret as per week.
Wednesday’s revelations show neither CN nor CP have been fined the maximum penalty. The minister’s office has not said why the railways were not fined the maximum amount.
Both railways remain under federal orders to move 325,000 metric tonnes of grain each per week.
Comment