A lack of rail capacity for delivering Canada’s grain to market has led to cash flow problems and grain shortages for food processors, millers and livestock operations in BC’s Fraser Valley.
According to a report on ipolitics.ca, the Grain Growers of Canada have complained to the Federal Government about the issue in a letter addressed to federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt.
[excerpt] “Rail service in Canada is rapidly becoming a pressing and urgent concern,” Grain Growers of Canada President Gary Stanford wrote.“We ask the federal government to seriously assess the evolving rail capacity issues for Canadian farmers and provide recommendations for alleviating the concerns we have brought forward,” the letter reads.
Those concerns, the group writes, are “immediate.” The delays has meant cash flow problems for farmers, grain shortages for millers and food processors, and shortages in livestock feed in the Fraser Valley, B.C.
[source]
Ritz’s response was less than helpful and focused on criticizing the NDP for breaking with the United Farmer’s Union.