Western Canadian farmers, including those in this region, have always relied on the national railway grain transportation system to get their products to domestic and international markets.
Unfortunately, according to the Redford government, that same railway system has been unable to meet the challenge of adequately handling last summer's bumper crop, creating a backlog of undelivered grain and putting producers in the unenviable position of failing to meet their customer commitments.
With Canadian farmers unable to get their grain to market, the damage to the country's agricultural industry is significant and ongoing, both in terms of reputation with international customers and in purely economic terms of product remaining unsold.
The 2013 western Canadian harvest produced more than 75-million metric tonnes of major grain crops, nearly 40 per cent more than the five-year average.
The Redford government says far too much of that bumper grain crop remains undelivered because the railway companies have failed to do the job they are tasked with.
In an effort to address what it calls a wholly unacceptable situation where grain is left undelivered and the Alberta farm community is left holding the bag, the provincial government has taken the offensive.
Specifically, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Verlyn Olson is now calling on the federal government to go hard at the railway companies by stepping up financial penalties and other sanctions.
“Unlike producers and grain companies, railways are not assessed immediate penalties when they fail to meet their grain-delivery obligations,” said Olson. “That needs to change. The consequences of poor service needs to be shared by all to ensure our products move to port as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Premier Alison Redford added: “The weaknesses in our grain-handling transportation system need to be fixed. While this year's harvest was exceptional, higher yields are becoming the new norm in Western Canada and the problem will continue to grow unless appropriate steps are taken.”
More than perhaps any other sector, the agriculture industry relies on the ability to move its product in a timely fashion to seaports, where it is then shipped to international markets.
As such, an efficient and reliable railway system is an absolute must for the economic well-being of Alberta's and other Canadian grain farmers.
If financial penalties and other sanctions are needed to compel the rail companies to get more grain to market then that option must be considered.
However, the best option remains for government, railway companies and the agriculture industry to get together and find a mutually beneficial solution to what is fast becoming a national crisis.
