British Columbia grain producers are closely watching developments in the nationwide rail dispute that they say could soon spread its impact beyond farmers to producers of food and beer.
Canadian National Railway Co. trains began rolling again, but it’s unclear when freight movements will fully resume after rail workers issued a new strike notice and pushed back against efforts by the federal government to get them back to work.
Operations remain halted at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd., shutting down B.C.’s West Coast Express commuter line because it runs on CPKC track.
Peace River area farmer Hannah Willms, who is a director of the B.C. Grain Producers Association, says the stoppage that was triggered on Wednesday night is causing problems for farmers like her who rely on trains to get their barley from Fort St. John to the market each week.
She says that compared to trains, trucks don’t have enough capacity. One train can carry as much grain as 300 double-length Super-B trucks, and there’s “no way” to get enough trucks on the road to make up the difference.
Willms believes a lack of cash flow will put soon a strain on farmers who need the harvest to get paid.
“When we are harvesting our grain, we have gone all summer without income, and so we get to harvest, and we start shipping our grain. That’s when we get our income,” said Willms, who has been farming with her husband for 30 years.
She expects if farmers can’t move their grain, it will create problems for other food sectors.
“And pretty soon, the beer is not going to be flowing — we supply barley for beer,” said Willms.
Commuters in B.C. also continue to feel the impact of the first-ever simultaneous work stoppage on Canada’s two major railways.
The West Coast Express in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland remained halted Friday for a second day, and transportation provider TransLink says it can’t restart until CPKC gives the green light.
The commuter train between Vancouver and Mission, B.C., has been unable to operate without locked-out CPKC rail traffic controllers.