The patience of Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart would be admirable, were there some probability our problems could be solved with more patience.
But when it comes to the railways and the federal government`s inability to deal with them effectively, the patience of most everyone else has run out.
The thought crossed one’s mind during question period last week when Stewart was asked by the NDP’s Cathy Sproule why he wasn`t pressuring the federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz to have the federal cabinet reinstate the Order in Council legally requiring the two rail companies to move a minimum volume of agriculture product.
While Ritz said there is no need for the law because the rail companies are 25- to 30-per-cent ahead of last year’s pace, others are not so generous.
According to the AG Transport Coalition, through the first 30 weeks of the current crop year, the railways have failed to supply 23,295 hopper cars that were ordered by shippers — an 11-per-cent shortfall.
Of course, both CN and CP deny this assessment. CP President Hunter Harrison went so far as to say in a newsletter earlier in the year: ‘‘The use of public funds to drive a single, self-serving agenda under the guise of solving a large complex supply chain issue is unconscionable.‘‘
There again, many others would view Harrison — who made $17.6 million in salary, share options, bonuses and other benefits — as having his own self-serving agenda.
‘‘Given the current industry structure, it is unrealistic to expect that competitive forces will improve the railway performance,” Arlynn Kurtz, vice-president of the Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
‘‘Producers continue to face incredibly reduced revenues at local elevators, unreliable service and cash flow constraints at a time when we are preparing for our most significant capital investment time of the growing year.”
Admittedly, Hunter and Ritz are right that the problems are complex one that still require some time to sort out.
But while politicians to varying degrees can preach patience or — in the case of Ritz — make excuses for the ineffectiveness of the federal law, farmers have run out of patience. And it now appears they have been joined by the rest of the Saskatchewan business community.
According to a recent study by the Conference Board of Canada, the constraints being imposed by the railways will now make it very difficult for Premier Brad Wall‘s government to achieve the goal in its Plan for Growth of doubling provincial exports to $59 billion by 2020.
Louis Theriault, vice-president of public policy for the Ottawa-based Conference Board, that translates into needing to move 20 million more tonnes annually by 2020 that would include nine million more tonnes of potash, six million more tonnes of oil and five million more tonnes of agri-food products.
If only 80 per cent of the target is reached, it will cost the Saskatchewan economy $3.6 billion. And reaching 90 per cent of the goal will still cost the province $1.8 billion.
Steve McLellan — CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce that commissioned the study because of the grain backlogs that cost Western farmers $5.1 billion in lost sales in the 2013-14 crop year — noted the study also showed current transportation infrastructure suggests there is only enough capacity to reach 71 per cent of that 2020 target.
Considering the severity of the problem as outlined in the study, one might assume Stewart, Wall and the rest of the Sask. Party government should also be running out of patience when it comes to the ceaseless battle with the railways.
McLellan also questioned Ottawa’s decision to drop the penalties imposed on the railway for not moving product.
When even business wants penalties imposed on the railway business, it would seem everyone has run out of patience.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 22 years.
