For the month of November, Canadian Pacific (CP) moved more grain and grain products than any other month in its history. The company delivered 2.74 million metric tonnes (MMT) during November, beating the October 2019 all-time record of 2.66 MMT. “CP achieved great things last month for the Canadian grain supply chain in close collaboration… Read More
In the week since the CN Railway strike ended, a top executive says they’re on the right track to get grain and other products moving as they once were. CN’s executive vice-president and corporate services and chief legal officer, Sean Finn, says although the strike meant setbacks, they were still able to move close to… Read More
While pulse market challenges haven’t been grabbing headlines as much lately, there are longer standing issues with chickpea, pea, and lentil movement than say, canola’s recent run-in with China. Murad Al-Katib, CEO of AGT Foods, says that there are reasons to be optimistic on pulse markets heading in to 2020, even in the face of… Read More
In just a few days, Ontario’s corn harvest ground to a halt. Not because of Mother Nature’s wrath this time, but because of an abrupt end of the supply of propane that fuels dryers to dry the corn to a safe level. Barry Senft, CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario, says that the rail strike… Read More
The CN Rail strike lasted eight days, causing a logistical nightmare across Canada and inducing a propane shortage for Quebec. While regular service is set to resume November 27th, without changes these types of shortages could happen again, says the Quebec farmers union (l’Union des producteurs agricoles, UPA). Marcel Groleau, president of UPA, says the… Read More
A tentative deal between the Teamsters union and the over 3,000 rail workers it represents and CN Rail will mean that normal rail operations are set to resume as early as today. A news release sent mid-morning on Tuesday says: “I’m pleased to announce we’ve reached a tentative agreement with CN,” says Francois Laporte, president… Read More
Edit: CN Rail and the Teamsters union have reached a tentative agreement, effective November 26 With the CN Rail strike entering its second week, farmers continue to pressure the government to intervene and end the strike. Fresh off of the October election, many farmers are questioning whether Prime Minister Trudeau understand the gravity of the… Read More
With the rail strike starting a second week, the agriculture industry’s concern is rising beyond short-term impacts. CN Rail workers striking across the country means that the railways is down to a crawl in terms of productivity. How much is regular service impacted? A statement from CN Rail to RealAgriculture over the weekend says: “The 3,200… Read More
With the CN strike about to enter day three, the president of the Canadian Propane Association (CPA) says the province of Quebec is about to enter into a crisis situation, with Ontario not far behind. Quebec heavily relies on the the railroad to bring its supply of propane — 83 per cent is transported via… Read More
Grain Farmers of Ontario want the federal government to be more proactive in bringing the CN Rail and teamsters union dispute to an end before it impacts agriculture. It would seem that’s already happening, however, as at least one farmer in the eastern region of Ontario has already reported that they’ve been told that propane… Read More
Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) walked off the job Tuesday, November 19, to begin a strike protesting what the union calls unsafe working conditions. Negotiations between CN Rain and the union have been on-going for the past seven months with federal mediators being used in the past five months. The 72-hour strike… Read More
The commissions that represent wheat and barley growers in Alberta are calling on the federal government to intervene if a strike by CN Rail employees takes place on Tuesday. Over the weekend, the union that represents more than 3,000 CN workers says it will strike one minute past midnight if negotiations aren’t resolved prior to…. Read More
A spokesperson for CN Rail confirms that due to “adjusting its resources to demand,” CN has laid off approximately 1,600, including managers, office employees, and unionized rail workers . Those in a range of positions within the CN Rail network both in Canada and the U.S. will lose their job. According to CN, the layoffs… Read More
The Teamsters union that represents roughly 3,000 members of the Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) at Canadian National Railway Company (CN) says workers may be going on strike as soon as November. In September, conductors, train- and yard-workers voted 99.2 per cent in favour of strike action over its collective agreement that expired near the end… Read More
Those in the railway business are already starting to prepare for the winter months that lie ahead. As snowstorms hit parts of the Prairies in the last few weeks. some have wondered if that would put a strain on the movement of grain. David Przednowek, director of sales and marketing for CN Rail, says these… Read More