A national grain growers’ group hopes farmers’ issues with the rail transport of grain will “resonate strongly” with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s new transport minister.
Chuck Strahl, an MP from British Columbia’s Fraser Valley and former federal ag minister (2006-07), was moved to the transport, infrastructure and communities file from the Indian affairs portfolio Friday in a mini-shuffle of the federal cabinet.
“Farmers are deeply concerned about the poor service provided by the railways for shippers. We want clear, effective commercial and regulatory changes to ensure against abuse of railway market power,” Doug Robertson, president of the Grain Growers of Canada, said in a release Friday.
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Robertson, who farms at Carstairs, Alta., described the current level-of-service review for railways as “extremely sensitive for the agriculture industry” and said the group is “hopeful that through the review process the minister will keep his ear to the ground and stand up for the needs of producers.”
An interim report from the level-of-service review is due in October, the GGC noted in its release. “Farmers will be paying close attention to the preliminary recommendations of the committee to ensure that substantial reforms are made.”
And as ag minister, the GGC said, Strahl “made a genuine effort to reach out to ordinary farmers and commodity associations to help the formation of government policy.”
In a separate release Friday, Harper’s office said Strahl’s “immediate priority” is to be the “ongoing implementation of the infrastructure stimulus component of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.”
“In his new position, Chuck will drive progress on thousands of economic stimulus projects across Canada — projects to provide jobs, to lay the foundation for future growth and to give new hope to working Canadians,” Harper said in a statement.
Before entering politics, Strahl was a partner in a road construction and logging contracting firm, managing operations throughout the Fraser Valley.
Strahl, 53, disclosed five years ago that he has inoperable lung cancer, which he has said may be linked to exposure to asbestos from open brakes on logging equipment during his career in the industry.
“Unnecessary election”
As transport minister, Strahl replaces Ottawa-area MP John Baird, who becomes government House leader, replacing Peace River-area MP Jay Hill, who announced last month he won’t seek re-election.
Baird, a former provincial cabinet minister, an MP since 2006, and well known for a combative approach in the House of Commons, “has a mandate to work co-operatively with the other parties and make Parliament function,” Harper’s office said Friday.
“An unnecessary election is the last thing that Canadians need, that the economy needs, at this time,” Harper said.
John Duncan, the MP for Vancouver Island North since 1993, enters cabinet to replace Strahl in the Indian affairs and northern development portfolio, and is also now responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.
Duncan had served since 2008 as Strahl’s parliamentary secretary, and before 2006 as an opposition critic on the same file.
