Federal Transport Minister To Hold Talks With Saskatchewan Farm Groups

Oct 07, 2016

The federal transport minister has scheduled a meeting in Saskatchewan to discuss grain movement with farm groups.

Transportation Minister Marc Garneau will hold his first face-to-face meeting with grain producers on October 20th in Saskatoon.

It will give farm organizations an opportunity to discuss the ongoing review of the Canada Transportation Act.

The CTA review’s final report included a recommendation that the Maximum Revenue Entitlement or MRE be scrapped within seven years.

The MRE places a cap on the amount of money railways can charge for shipping grain.

Norm Hall, President of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, says the October 20th meeting with Garneau will be very important.

He says if the MRE is scrapped, studies show farmers could see a 25 to 30 per-cent increase in grain freight rates, meaning a 300 to 400 million dollar increase in freight costs per year to prairie farmers.

Source : CKRM

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