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Parliament in the Ottawa skyline - Date/Photographer unknown.
31 May 2013
Rail Service Legislation
Passes Unopposed
Ottawa Ontario - The federal government's bid to set and hold Canada's railways to agreed-upon levels of service by law has passed
unopposed despite calls to tighten its terms.
"Once adopted, this new Act will contribute positively to relations between shippers and railway companies, and enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and
reliability of the entire rail freight supply," federal Transport Minister Denis Lebel said in a release Thursday hailing passage of Bill C-52 in the
House of Commons.
The bill, which was first tabled in December, also passed first reading in the Senate on Thursday afternoon and returns for second reading on Tuesday,
4 Jun 2013.
C-52, a.k.a. the Fair Rail Freight Service Act, gives shippers the right to enter into a confidential contract with a railway company and lays out a framework
in which shippers and railways can negotiate service agreements.
The bill also provides the trigger for a "fast and efficient arbitration process" to establish terms of service if commercial negotiations end in
dispute.
The bill also allows the Canadian Transportation Agency to levy administrative monetary penalties of up to $100,000 on a railway for each subsequent violation
that "does not follow the arbitrator's decision" from an arbitrated level-of-service agreement, the government noted.
C-52 was the government's response to recommendations from the federal Rail Freight Service Review Panel in 2011. The panel, the government said, sought to
encourage the use of bilateral service pacts between shippers and railways to bring more "clarity, predictability, and reliability" to rail
service.
Weak
In March this year, however, a coalition of shippers called for a new round of amendments to C-52, claiming they were now getting the worst rail service they'd
seen in three years.
The coalition, which included the Western Grain Elevator Association, crop commodity groups, as well as mining, feed, fertilizer, forestry, and automotive
companies, asked in March that the bill better define "adequate and suitable accommodation" and "service obligations."
The shippers also asked that C-52 allow an arbitrator to rule on a wider range of items in a service level agreement, allow single shipper tariffs to be
eligible for final offer arbitration, allow a shipper to identify the matter in dispute before an arbitrator, and remove the ability for the railways to use
"the network" as an excuse for inadequate service.
Olivia Chow, the opposition New Democrats' transport critic in the Commons, last month described C-52 as a "weak bill" that would only
"partially address" the situation rail shippers face in Canada.
Despite "clear evidence" from rail freight customers, she said 20 Apr 2013, the Commons transport committee "ignored the pleas for key changes
and sent the unchanged, insufficient bill back to the House."
Chow, a Toronto MP, had "worked closely" with the coalition on her proposed amendments to the bill, but said the committee, controlled by the
majority Conservatives, rejected them all.
At third reading and adoption on Thursday, however, the Commons passed C-52 by a vote of 255 to zero.
C-52, Chow said last month, "is only the first step in addressing the abuse of market power by the railway companies for freight services. Much more needs
to be done and together with my New Democratic colleagues I will hold this government to account."
Author unknown.
Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada
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