Thanks for that story, Warren. I've heard from farmer after farmer after farmer that we can't get our grain to the ports and we can't get paid. That's kind of the big thing.
Mr. Chair and members of the committee, on behalf of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers, thank you for holding this meeting. I'm glad this issue is getting the attention it needs, although I am saddened that we have to be holding this meeting at all.
As a grain farmer, I can state without hesitation that when our rail lines are only hauling 50% at most, a lot of people and a lot of farmers are hurting.
Unfortunately, one of the reasons these statistics have risen in the last couple of weeks is that carriers are running more trains on main lines, and many farmers and terminals on the side branch lines are still woefully short of rail stock. In addition, we are now facing spring breakup in many parts of the country, so road restrictions are coming into place. Then we have planting season. We can ill afford to have these kinds of rail backlogs in the future.
As I stated, I personally know of many grain farmers who are having the same problems as Warren. One in particular has a barley contract worth three-quarters of a million dollars that is three or four months behind. He's a good-sized farmer, but that's a lot of money to be waiting on.
When grain is sitting in a farmer's bin, of course we aren't getting paid. We can't pay our bills, and the domino effect rolls out across all the towns and across the Prairies. On top of the immediate financial problems, farmers are attempting to make decisions for the looming crop year. When cash flow has all but stopped for many farmers, the future looks bleak.
I'd like to remind the committee—and Ian did it earlier—that in 2014 this not only affected grain but also the fertilizer coming up from the Mississippi. It ultimately made it here, but it gave input companies a reason to jack the prices, and farmers had to pay for that in the end. Truthfully, it shouldn't be this way and it doesn't need to be this way.
I'm glad that CN acknowledged they had made mistakes. This is a good start, but good intentions do not resolve the problem that grain farmers are facing.
I recognize that we can't discount weather, because it is an obvious safety issue. With that said, rail has run in Canada for over a hundred years. Cold temperatures and snow in July shouldn't be a surprise, and we need better planning for that. CN and CP need to be better prepared. They need to not get rid of power and have more front-line manpower. Obviously their forecasting was poor, so I suggest maybe they spend some money on that.
Although Bill C-49 isn't a perfect bill, it does give shippers some clout and does put some of the onus back on the rail companies. We need to pass this bill, with some of the proposed amendments, sooner rather than later so that farmers have that much-needed protection.
The government has stressed this year that agriculture will play a major role in strengthening our GDP and the middle class. We grain farmers are up to the task. We are among some of the most productive grain growers on the planet. Unfortunately, with the current grain transportation problems, we won't be able to easily meet these objectives. There are tens of thousands of farmers and hundreds of thousands of middle-class people who are negatively affected by backlogs like this.
We need an efficient transportation system. We need to be able to move all commodities to market: grain, minerals, raw resources, and finished goods. We need to be able to meet our customers' expectations. We need good rail lines that meet timelines, and we need pipelines for oil. The Western Canadian Wheat Growers believe this is a non-partisan issue. Ships are waiting in Vancouver. Farmers have the grain that needs to be exported on these ships. Farmers and grain shippers want to work with you, the governments, and we want to work with the rail companies. Let's collectively solve this problem.
In closing, Mr. Chair, Bill C-49 needs to be passed as soon as possible. We need long-term solutions to the problems we are facing today, but first and foremost we have to get this bill through. Get it done before the summer comes along so that we can work with some of these clauses in there and make sure they work.
Mr. Chair, I thank the committee for meeting today. Let's make certain that we, collectively, are not just talking. We need to be doing, and starting today, we need to fix this problem for the long term.
I look forward to answering your questions.