Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak on the urgent rail delay situation tonight, but I wish we were not here. I wish that we did not find ourselves here tonight with this problem of rail transport and all the delays. It is mind-blowing.
These lengthy delays and backlogs in rail transport have prevented thousands of landlocked western grain producers from getting their product to the market. Western farmers are coming out of a bumper crop without being able to move their product to the market. We need our railroad companies to be able to respond quickly to a bumper crop immediately after harvest. This will avoid the kinds of delays that we are seeing right now.
I have spoken to some farmers about the crisis and I am hearing that there are lot of things that are going wrong.
One, some farmers are telling me that grain shipments are not a high priority to rail companies, as oil, potash, and coal are. This is unacceptable. Rail companies cannot pick and choose their cargo. They are putting thousands of livelihoods at risk.
A farmer told me that his grain is not moving, but his neighbour's is. He explained that his neighbour had contracted a lower price with the rail company than he had, and therefore he was given a priority. If so, this is unacceptable as well.
Another farmer from Saskatchewan, Glenn Tait, talked about how the elevator companies are charging double the demurrage fees, and I quote:
The elevator companies will recoup demurrage charges from farmers by deducting this cost from grain prices.
When the Canadian Wheat Board looked after logistical matters, freight costs from the prairies to the western ports were in the range of $50 per tonne. Today, we are seeing costs of $100 per tonne or more deducted.
The total losses from demurrage alone so far are in the millions of dollars, money that will never be spent by prairie farmers or anywhere within the Canadian economy.
Western grain farmers are incredibly frustrated. They have done their part and have worked very hard to produce a bumper crop. Now they need the government to hold up its end of the bargain and get the railways moving.
We are in an emergency debate here tonight. All of this is because the government did not do its homework two years ago after it abolished the wheat board. It did not take the time to consider or develop a plan for transportation.
Back in 2011, the NDP warned the Conservatives that getting rid of the wheat board would mean putting an end to stability. For generations, farmers relied on the wheat board—