Mr. Speaker, in the 1970s and 1980s there were not enough rail cars to haul western grain to our seaports and Canada lost sales and markets as a result.
The government of the day decided to buy a fleet of hopper cars which were then leased back to the railroads to haul that grain.
Ottawa's intention was twofold: to allow Canada to meet its export commitments and to keep transportation costs down for western farmers.
The government no longer wants the hopper cars but there is a group ready to acquire and manage the fleet. The Farmer Rail Car Coalition includes a wide array of farm and community organizations and it has a business plan ensuring that benefits will flow back to all western farmers.
These hopper cars should be turned over to the Farmer Rail Car Coalition at a nominal cost and without having the cars go up for auction. This is the way to ensure that farmers will continue to benefit from the rail cars that were originally purchased for their use.