Mr. Speaker, last week I had an informative meeting with the general mill manager of Zellstoff Celgar pulp mill in Castlegar, B.C. regarding the CN and CP railways. According to Mr. Hitzroth, the Castlegar plant is paying premium prices for service that has deteriorated considerably over the past few years. This decline in rail service is threatening over 400 jobs at the Zellstoff Celgar mill.
Similar complaints are being expressed by the Canadian Wheat Board and many rural communities, especially those on secondary lines. These days the railways are reaping record profits and do not much care and, unless forced to, they never will.
The most immediate concern is the CP maintenance workers' labour strike. The government must step in and put pressure on CP to get back to the table, negotiate in good faith and hammer out a quick and reasonable settlement with its workers.
There has been enormous taxpayer investment in the Canadian railway system and the government must act. Our resource based and rural communities deserve to have a safe, quality and affordable service that all Canadians have paid for.