(Dave Bedard photo)

Elevator operators seek quick end to CN strike

The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) wants grain shipments on Canadian National Railway (CN) to resume as soon as possible. “It has a major impact for every day that we’re not moving grain on CN,” WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich said in an interview Tuesday. “A federal mediator has been appointed and that’s a step […] Read more

Loading grain on a vessel at a Burrard Inlet terminal. (Maxvis/iStock/Getty Images)

B.C. longshoremen to take strike vote this week

MarketsFarm — The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is urging members at Canada’s West Coast ports to vote for a strike, as negotiations for a collective agreement have dragged on for over a year. The union members’ vote takes place Wednesday and Thursday (May 8-9). ILWU and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) […] Read more


(PortMetroVancouver.com)

Grain vessel lineup rising at Vancouver

CNS Canada — The lineup of grain vessels waiting for loading at Vancouver increased to 21 for Week 8 of the grain shipping season. Reports by Quorum Corp., which monitors Prairie grain handling, stated vessels at Vancouver were up 31 per cent from the previous week (17). The increase in ships raised sentiments that grain […] Read more

Pass Bill C-49 before Parliament breaks in June: That was KAP president Dan Mazier’s message to the Commons agriculture committee March 19 in Ottawa. (ParlVU screen shot)

Get grain moving again, KAP says

Move western grain, ASAP. That’s the blunt and urgent message Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president Dan Mazier told an emergency meeting of the House of Commons’ agriculture committee Monday in Ottawa. The 2013-14 grain shipping backlog cost Western farmers around $6.5 billion and the current one will cost billions again, Mazier said. The first step […] Read more



Photo: File/Allan Dawson

Grain elevators applaud the Parliamentary Committee’s rail recommendations

The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) has added its voice to grain industry organizations praising a report from the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities on rail transportation affecting grain shippers. Recommendations in the report broadly encompass the adjustments required to the Canada Transportation Act to ensure the Canadian economy prospers in the long […] Read more



(FIle photo by Allan Dawson)

Grains sector continues to welcome transport legislation

CNSC – Accolades from producer groups and others in the grain industry continue to roll in for the federal government’s upcoming transportation legislation. The planned measures were outlined this week by Marc Garneau, the federal transportation minister, in a speech in Montreal. The new legislation will allow reciprocal penalties in service level agreements between railway […] Read more


Photo: File/Allan Dawson

Proposed transportation legislation gets thumbs up from grain industry

It might feel like Christmas came early for grain grower organizations, who have long been calling for reform of grain transportation regulations. The Federal government has promised to introduce legislation in early 2017 that is going to check some items off their wish list. Transport Minister Marc Garneau unveiled the federal government’s plans in a […] Read more

(PortOfChurchill.ca)

Port of Churchill closing, blindsiding workers, industry alike 

Commodity News Service – The largest employer in Churchill, Manitoba will shut its doors, leaving employees and loaded cars alike stranded on the tracks. Workers at the Port of Churchill were told Monday, July 25, there would be no grain shipments going through the port this season, leaving approximately 10 per cent of Churchill residents out of […] Read more