REGINA (June 19, 2000) — There is room for improvement in the federal grain transportation reform legislation, says Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation Minister Maynard Sonntag.

Sonntag said the province is disappointed that recommendations it made to the federal government were not incorporated into the new legislation. The legislation received third reading last week and is expected to be passed by the House of Commons this week. It would take effect August 1 for the 2001-2002 crop year.

“We put forward positive suggestions to the Standing Committee on Transportation and federal Transport Minister David Collenette, that would have benefited farmers,” he said. “We are disappointed to see those suggestions were ignored.”

The Standing Committee reviews federal transportation legislation before passage. The recommended changes to the legislation included:

o Inclusion of new crops such as chickpeas in the list of eligible commodities, subject to the revenue cap and the other features of the legislation.

o Revenue cap overcharges in one year should be immediately applied against the next year’s revenue cap so farmers are not paying more than they should for rail services.

o Provisions for determining railway revenues under the revenue cap should be transparent. This will ensure that farmers pay comparable prices to move grain from different points over similar distances.

o The legislation must ensure that alternate parties have a fair chance to purchase and operate viable branch lines.

“These issues were not dealt with,” Sonntag said. “However, there is still some opportunity to address the shortfalls of this legislation in the review of the Canada Transportation Act next month.”

The winter of 1996-1997 saw significant snowfall and, consequently, significant problems transporting grain. As a result of the backlog, western provinces and producer groups pushed the federal government for a review of Canada’s grain handling and transportation system.

On May 10, Ottawa announced its intent to table grain transportation reform legislation which included the following measures:

o Freight rate revenue cap reduction of $178 million from 2000-2001 levels;

o Money for roads — $175 million over five years for the four western provinces (Saskatchewan share approximately $106 million);

o Canadian Wheat Board — 25% tendering for a minimum of two years, 50% tendering starting in 2002-2003, and the CWB must report to public;

o Provisions to facilitate the transfer of grain-dependent branch lines to community-based short line, and transitional compensation to affected communities;

o Establishment of an independent committee to monitor reforms introduced in the legislation; reporting to federal ministers as well as public; and

o Final offer arbitration, a process for the railways and shippers to resolve disputes on rates and levels of service.