Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Farm leaders decry rail blockages



Ontario’s farm leaders have sent an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau complaining that railway blockages are hurting their businesses.

They did not, however, send any similar letter to Indigenous groups putting up the blockades to protest the construction of increased capacity for an oil pipeline from Alberta to the British Columbia coast.

The letter was signed by almost all of Ontario’s farm leaders – from Keith Currie, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, to the leaders of all of the poultry marketing boards, the associations for grain, beef and pork producers, the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, Food and Beverage Ontario and Agri Business Association.

The letter says “We need your help, we are asking you to find an immediate solution to the current disruption in rail service and work with us to develop solutions that will stop continual disruptions to rail service in Canada.”