Evidence of meeting #61 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was shippers.
A recording is available from Parliament.
President, Canadian Fertilizer Institute
It's the railway, or our plants and mines get shut down.
Conservative
President, Canadian Fertilizer Institute
That's ineffective. You can't run a business on the basis of suing your business partner all the time.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
Well, presumably, you wouldn't be suing them all the time. Presumably, when you have a service-level agreement, you would try to resolve it without a lawsuit.
All of you have been asking for this mechanism—very ill-defined, by the way—that you want the government to create a new, complicated government-controlled mechanism—
President, Canadian Fertilizer Institute
Actually, we defined it very well in—
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
Excuse me. If I could just finish....
You haven't defined what this mechanism is. You don't seem willing to subject yourself to the same mechanisms that your customers would have in the event of a total breach, and that is the courts. That, ultimately, is the way contracts are enforced. Perhaps you can explain why we would create a mechanism just for you, completely separate from what everyone else uses.
Representative, Lawyer, McMillan LLP, Mining Association of Canada
The simple reason why that isn't the case is because shippers can't take the railways to court. They are dependent on the railway. You cannot sue them, because their remedy is not to service you. That whole idea is patently absurd. It arises very infrequently that a shipper will take on a railway. I have a very good idea how often that is: it's a very infrequent occurrence.
What you want to be able to do is go to a supplier who is going to provide the service or provide the good. That's what happens in a normally functioning market. This is not one of those...across the entire system. There are many parts of the system where it's fabulous. What we're trying to address is those parts of the system where it's not. That's what this is meant to address.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
I know there are a number of us, including myself, who have to catch an airplane.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mining Association of Canada
We can debate open skies anytime you like.
February 28th, 2013 / 5:30 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
I want to thank all the witnesses for being here today. I think we shoved a lot into two hours, and I thank you for that.
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
The meeting is adjourned.