From the farm gate to new markets around the globe, Canada’s innovative agriculture sector is reaching new horizons every day.
Our farmers are coming off a record harvest. The Western Canadian crop, at 76 million tonnes, is 50 per cent higher than average.
Our ag sector now employs more than 585,000 people, and our country is the world’s fifth-largest exporter of agri-food products.
As our government continues working to open markets in Europe, Asia, and around the world, we see no reason why this growth will not continue.
Of course, to take full advantage of these opportunities, we must ensure our ability to get our products to these new markets.
As farmers know, shipping grain has proven particularly difficult this year, with a large backlog reported across the prairies. Our government took swift action, ordering that the railways each carry 500,000 metric tonnes of grain per week until June 7, or face stiff penalties of up to $100,000 per day. That was just the first step.
On March 26, our government introduced the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, to rectify the current backlog in the short term while accounting for future increases in production.
Under this legislation, our government is extending the minimum shipping order to Aug. 3. Moving forward, the railways will be required to provide more timely data on grain movement, and our government will be able to mandate grain shipping volumes more efficiently, as necessary.
In addition, this legislation allows the Canadian Transportation Agency to extend inter-switching distances from the current 30 kilometres to 160 kilometres, increasing competition between the railways. Currently, only 14 primary elevators are able to take advantage of inter-switching provisions, leaving 320 reliant on one railway. This change will provide inter-switching access to 40 per cent more shippers.
When it comes to getting our grain to market, our government means business.
Farmers need assurance of cash flow so they can afford to plant next year’s crop, and they need the bin space available to harvest that crop. Moving forward, thanks to better technology and farming practices, we expect yields to continue to grow.
With the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, communities across the west can rest assured that our government is taking action to ensure a properly functioning transportation system is in place to keep our economy moving.
