Parliament might be suspended this week for March break, but official discussions are heating up in the backrooms of federal politics, thanks to fast-approaching deadlines on several key issues. 

The federal Conservatives must decide within the next few weeks whether to again extend the minimum volumes for grain, which have now been in place for more than a year. The current orders require Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway to move 345,000 tones of grain until March 22, when the volume jumps for one week to 465,000 tonnes.

However, those orders expire March 28, and Ottawa hasn’t ruled out the possibility of extending them. 

Transport minister Lisa Raitt told reporters March 10 that officials with Transport Canada are reviewing the orders, but noted a final decision has yet to be made. 

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Gerry Ritz recently told The Western Producer that extending the orders is still an option on the table. 

However, the possible extension of the orders comes as shippers continue to criticize rail service levels, with both industry and government admitting the orders aren’t perfect.

CN and CP have been repeatedly accused of cherry picking routes with the fastest turn around times. 

Meanwhile, oat and barley shippers continue to report service issues caused by ongoing delays in car orders destined to the U.S. 

Those in the industry have conceded that grain is moving better than it was last year, but shippers are far from satisfied. 

The latest numbers from the Ag Transport Coalition show that the railways have delivered only 29 percent of cars in the week they were ordered. 

More than 22,000 car orders are outstanding since the beginning of the year. 

However, the railroads continue to insist they are providing record service, a point CN conveniently highlighted in a March 12 news release, in which it insisted it was providing an average of 4,700 hopper cars per week. ..."


The federal Conservatives must decide within the next few weeks whether to again extend the minimum volumes for grain, which have now been in place for more than a year. The current orders require Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway to move 345,000 tones of grain until March 22, when the volume jumps for one week to 465,000 tonnes.

However, those orders expire March 28, and Ottawa hasn’t ruled out the possibility of extending them. 

Transport minister Lisa Raitt told reporters March 10 that officials with Transport Canada are reviewing the orders, but noted a final decision has yet to be made. 

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Gerry Ritz recently told The Western Producer that extending the orders is still an option on the table. 

However, the possible extension of the orders comes as shippers continue to criticize rail service levels, with both industry and government admitting the orders aren’t perfect.

CN and CP have been repeatedly accused of cherry picking routes with the fastest turn around times. 

Meanwhile, oat and barley shippers continue to report service issues caused by ongoing delays in car orders destined to the U.S. 

Those in the industry have conceded that grain is moving better than it was last year, but shippers are far from satisfied. 

The latest numbers from the Ag Transport Coalition show that the railways have delivered only 29 percent of cars in the week they were ordered. 

More than 22,000 car orders are outstanding since the beginning of the year. 

However, the railroads continue to insist they are providing record service, a point CN conveniently highlighted in a March 12 news release, in which it insisted it was providing an average of 4,700 hopper cars per week. ..."


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