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Fall
2017
grainswest.com27
ANADA’S LIBERAL GOVERNMENT IS HALFWAY
through its first term, and despite early concerns that
the caucus may be light on agricultural expertise, its
members are receiving positive reviews from leaders in the
grain sector for making significant investments in infrastructure
and doubling down on supply management.
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised when you look at the
composition of the Liberal government, and the minimal
members they have from the West, how they have treated
agriculture,” said Grain Growers of Canada president Jeff
Nielsen. “Minister MacAulay has really taken steps to be
proactive with the grains sector.”
“The federal Budget 2017 gives record recognition to
the sector, with investments in agricultural innovation,
and an ambitious target of $75 billion in annual agri-food
exports by 2025,” said federal Minister of Agriculture
Lawrence MacAulay. “Successful trade depends on a strong
transportation system, and that’s why, in Budget 2017, we are
investing over $10 billion in trade and transportation corridors
to help get agri-food products to market.”
Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act,
proposes sweeping changes aimed at solving issues in
grain transportation. It has impressed industry leaders who
generally feel the proposed changes reflect concerns they
presented during industry consultation.
“As long as the proposed rail legislation passes and
the intent of the new act is followed, this will be a positive
development,” responded Alberta Barley chair Jason
Lenz. “But major negatives are the potential elimination of
deferred cash tickets and the proposed changes to the tax
system. (For more on this, see page 20.) The tax change
will have a significant impact on producers, especially on
C
BY TAMARA LEIGH • PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
Amidterm look at the federal Liberals’ performance in agriculture
intergenerational land transfers. This is a critical item on
farmers’ minds, and the consultation period is quite short.
“On the grain transportation file, I think the agricultural
community is wholly supportive of what they’ve seen thus far,”
said Kevin Hursh, executive director of the Inland Terminal
Association of Canada and Saskatchewan grain farmer. “The
agricultural community—shippers and producers—were
amazingly united, and worked behind closed doors to come
together and put forward a reasoned position to government,
and the government seems to have adopted almost all of
these ideas.”
By defining adequate and suitable service, the new act
provides clarity and certainty for shippers, who previously had
to argue the definition every time they filed a level of service
complaint. The act also provides a mechanism by which
shippers can charge penalties to railways for service failures,
in the same way that railways have long been able to charge
penalties to shippers for contract failures. These are significant
shifts in the power dynamic previously dominated by the
railways.
Lenz describes reciprocal penalties as the act’s most
important aspect. “Commercial accountability throughout
the system is important for it to perform in a more market
responsive way. This should be a major roadblock that is
removed if the grain handling system performs as a normal,
competitive environment.”
The new act went to committee in September and may
move into enforcement by spring of 2018.
While the industry is looking forward to the new regulations
coming into effect, there is concern that it will be vulnerable
between the expiry of one act and the implementation
of the next, especially given that once the act is passed,
GRAIN
EXPECTAT IONS