CANADIAN SHIPPERS BACK ASPECTS OF ?TRANSPORTATION BLUEPRINT?

CANADIAN SHIPPERS BACK ASPECTS OF ôTRANSPORTATION BLUEPRINTö    Shippers generally approve the Canadian government’s proposed future “transportation blueprint” legislation as a way to diminish rail carrier rate abuses.
   In specific, the Canadian Industrial Transportation Association pointed out the proposed changes to “final offer arbitration” in the legislation, which enable the group’s members to “gather under one banner to address abusive railway ancillary charge regimes.”
   The proposed legislation was released on Feb. 25 by Canada’s transport minister David Collenette.
   “If the legislation reflects what the minister committed to today, CITA members will be far better served by competitive and efficient railways operating under a framework that addresses market dominance,” said Lisa MacGillivray, CITA president.
   “The proposed legislation liberalizes the regulatory environment to achieve a better balance between shipper and carrier,” said Graham Allen, chairman of the CITA Rail Committee.
   Under the legislation shippers would no longer have to prove they would endure “substantial commercial harm” if the Canadian Transportation Agency does not hear their case.
   CITA members began to lobby their position during the transportation blueprint’s early development in March 2001. The Canadian Transportation Agency initially rejected CITA’s concern about the rights of railways to “unilaterally impose” ancillary charges. CITA subsequently lobbied the government to correct this oversight.
   MacGillivray, however, cautions Canadian shippers that there’s still work to be done with the proposed legislation.
   “There are CITA members who require limited running rights and working competitive line rates,” she said. “These issues were not satisfactorily dealt with in the vision document from CITA’s perspective. We will continue to work on our members’ behalf to convince parliamentarians to reconsider these provisions.”