Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reportedly asked cabinet veteran Anita Anand to serve as federal transport minister following Pablo Rodriguez’s departure from cabinet on Sept. 19 to seek the leadership of Quebec’s provincial Liberal party.
As transport minister, Anand will oversee the function of Canada’s railways and ports, including the transportation of grain and other ag commodities.
Her immediate to-do list includes making a recommendation to the federal cabinet on whether to approve Bunge’s proposed $8.2 billion acquisition of Viterra from Glencore. The decision on whether to approve, with or without conditions, has been sitting on the federal transport minister’s desk since Transport Canada’s public interest review concluded in June.
The two multi-national grain exporting and processing companies announced their plan to combine more than 14 months ago, in June 2023, and repeatedly said they intended to close the deal in mid-2024.
Bunge signaled possible progress on the deal with a debt-exchange offer to Glencore bondholders earlier this month, but the acquisition of Viterra remains in limbo, awaiting regulatory approval in multiple jurisdictions. While the EU gave its conditional approval in July, other countries, including the U.S., appearing to be waiting for the Canadian government’s decision.
As of early September, Rodriguez’s staff said he was still committed to making the Bunge-Viterra decision “as quickly as possible.”
The Competition Bureau and farm groups have raised some concerns about the combination of the two large crop handlers hurting competition. The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, for example, is asking the federal government to require Bunge sell its 25 per cent stake in grain handler G3 and the sale of certain Viterra assets if the deal is allowed to proceed.
Anand, who has represented the Ontario riding of Oakville since 2019, will also continue in her cabinet role as Treasury Board president.
Related: Bunge-Viterra decision on Canadian transport minister’s desk, with EU regulator to decide by July 18
