Consrvatives pre-occupied with Quebec over W. CAN

[wd9]

Oh, and the CWB was on the CRS too. (A good thing)

[mustardman]

I do not think it was a coincidence that shortly after the CRS came out with its recomendations - that the CWB was "targeted"

This ensured the heat would be taken off the railroads to improve
and since alot of pressure comes from CWB on the rail companies , it might also rid them of their arch nemesis.

Campaign contributions and big time lobbysists are the rail companies ace in the hole.

[Incognito]

Add one more spook and you have a Tom Clancey novel. Anyone have polonium 210 in the meeting?

[mustardman]

Incognito , the railroads since confederation have had huge political clout.
If you don"t think there was pressure applied this time as like other times you are sadly mistaken

[agstar77]

F.O.B. Doesn't meann freight is not calculated into the price you receive . Anyone with a working brain knows that, or are the anti CWB folks on a lunch break? Why don't you support your Con/reform buddies and agree, they need votes in Quebec.

[wd9]

Mustardman, CRS met with Transport Canada back in May. Marketing choice for those who want it has been in Conservative policy long before that and as you know the lobbying has been ongoing for at least 20 years. This isn't new. Completely ridiculous statement.

[northfarmer]

i support the moves made by harper to build his support base in que....the most important thing right now is to ensure we have a conservative majority govt as the outcome of the next federal election....on the ctv news last night, even with the anchorwoman stating the obvious position of rescinding our official position on imlementing the kyoto protocol(these guys/women love the liberals)....poll results show a starting improvement in the level of trust of canadians given to Harper since being elected...up somehting like 15% at 35%, with Dion the closest at 20%.....that tells a lot of what Canadians think and not what the media portrays....

FOB farm....we often sell non board crops, oats, peas and canola on these terms as many of our end users and customers like the predictability and reliability of this form of transport........

as for reform of transportation i do not buy into the argument that having the CWB lobbying for us does us any good, seems the mining and other industrial customers for rail service here in the west have a lot less trouble dealing with rail transport issues... but I guess they operate in a more commercially tranparent environment without a quazi governmental organization adding a leel of inefficiency to the system.....

even things like the freight cap serve to create an inefficent means of ensuring that adequate captial investments are made for maintanance and upgrades.......it takes five CN crew shifts to bring the trains to our terminals from the last of the high grade rail to the mines, only 100 miles as the crow flies from the concrete, all at a top speed of 10 miles an hour.....does this make any sense?

I would rather pay higher frieght rates for more predicable movement and would likely wash out int he end as we would pay less demurrage at the coast which would refelct in less actual basis to ship grain to port...IMHO

[mustardman]

WD9
Sure the conservatives have had a policy for years of "choice" .

Just as the railroads have had a policy of "no choice" for decades.

No joint running rights, no improvement of service, no penalties applied to railcompanies only to shippers.

Every commision group that has looked at rail problems has gotten nowhere.

Transport Canada has been controlled very succesfully for the last 100 years by the railroads.

This gov't like the previous ones will fail in attempting to change the sacred cow.

Why Do You think its off the radar ?
Phone your local M.P see what he says?

[wd9]

I know, it is about the railroads and the power they can exert. It isn't however about the CWB. The CWB is however repsonsible for the drought in 2002.

[mustardman]

Wd9

"Completely ridiculous statement"