Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced in July that the Crop Logistics Working Group (CLWG) has completed its final report, identifying ways to improve the grain handling and transportation system across Canada.
The working group was chaired by Murdoch MacKay and brought together over 18 agriculture organizations from across the grain sector. This report is a consensus of all these organizations and consolidates the broadest agriculture related recommendations to strengthen the grain supply chain.
The report consists of eight key recommendations, including: enhanced transparency in the rail market; continued assessment of grain movement volume, enhancements in the Level of Service process, enhanced powers of the Canadian Transportation Agency; and increased protection and support for producer car and other small shippers. These recommendations will be submitted on behalf of the CLWG to the Canada Transportation Act (CTA) review panel, chaired by David Emerson.
This work consolidates producer and agriculture industry input into the CTA review and concludes the third mandate of the CLWG, a forum for representatives across the industry to identify improvements to the supply chain.
This was the third and final mandate for the group, which has also provided input to the Rail Freight Service Review implementation process and worked on improving the performance of the supply chain for all crops, with a focus on innovation, capacity, and stakeholder collaboration.
The CLWG was an integral forum to bring together agricultural stakeholders to identify solutions to enhance the transparency and effectiveness of the grain handling system.
The CLWG is just one of the ways the government is working to improve the entire grain supply chain. Other measures include: passing Bill C30 and implementing regulations to clear last year鈥檚 backlog of grain; opening new markets for grain farmers and eliminating tariffs on Canadian grains; delivering Marketing Freedom; and launching a review of Canada鈥檚 transportation legislation a year ahead of schedule.
鈥淭he input provided by the CLWG supports our government鈥檚 commitment to improving the transportation system so that farmers鈥� products get to market quickly and efficiently,鈥� said Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture. 鈥淲orking with industry to strengthen the entire supply chain ensures Canada鈥檚 grain sector is well positioned for long term growth and sustainability.鈥�
鈥淥ur mandate was to establish a consensus position within the grain supply chain,鈥� MacKay said. 鈥淚t has been a privilege to work with this very committed industry group over the past six months in reaching that goal and we would like to thank the minister for this opportunity to bring the industry together to develop and present the recommendations of the industry to the CTA review panel and the minister.鈥�
