Fair Rail Freight Service Act Would Ensure Canadian Farmers Get Treated Fairly by Railways

Harper Government Seeks to Strengthen Rail Freight Service with New Bill

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

 The Harper government is moving swiftly to strengthen rail freight service across the country with the introduction of the “Fair Rail Freight Service Act”. The bill will create an arbitration process that would allow the establishment of an agreement if and when commercial negotiations happen to fail.

The Honourable Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz and Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities the Honourable Denis Lebel announced the rail freight bill on Monday.

“To continue creating jobs and growth for the Canadian economy, agriculture producers and processors must be able to get their world class product to market in a reliable and efficient way,” said Minister Ritz.

The announcement follows some of the recommendations that were made by the Rail Freight Service Review Panel in 2011. The report recommended the creation of bilateral service agreements between shippers and railways would bring more clarity and reliability in rail service. The bill is especially good for farmers who rely on rail freight as part of the supply chain to ship their crops.