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.”