Railway Risk Resurfaces

With harvest now underway in parts of the southwest prairies a long-standing risk for Western Canadian farmers is once again looming – railway strikes. While there remains time for the railways and unions to come to an agreement the current uncertainty is a painful reminder to global buyers, domestic handlers and producers of our industry’s longstanding transportation vulnerability.

Of course, geography does make the job a challenge, but that challenge can largely be addressed with 19th century technology. The underlying reality for Western Canadian farmers is that over 150 years of policy choices have created a situation of limited transportation routes, limited competition among the few companies that control those routes, and a policy environment that limits the interest those companies have in servicing agriculture.

Notably, farmers in Eastern Canada also have limited transportation routes – primarily the St. Lawrence seaway - but they enjoy much freer competition on this route. Whether polices that enhance grain transportation competition in Western Canada are feasible requires careful study, but it is worth noting that our current government was quick to seek new ‘competitors’ as a solution to the frustrations over rising grocery prices.

Hopefully they’ll see to it to apply the same sense of urgency a little further up the supply chain to the benefit of farmers, exporters and consumers.