E-Delivery

My du es as Chair of Alberta Pulse Growers (APG) extend beyond being a farmer and planning for the growing season, to serving as an advocate for improvements in areas such as rail transporta on that benefit all of us. The concerns that Alberta pulse producers have with the current rail transporta on system have been communicated with law makers by APG, Pulse Canada, Canadian Special Crops Associa on (CSCA), and others. At the me of this wri ng, Bill C-49, the Transporta on Moderniza on Act, has just been passed. This is such a relief because we need to be able to count on our rail system to reliably move our agricultural products to ports and to the market by the me this growing season's produc on comes off the field. APG, along with Pulse Canada and CSCA, expects the passage of Bill C-49 to bring be er service for Canadian shippers by providing a framework for improving Canada's transporta on system. This Act introduced reciprocal penal es into Service Level Agreements, replaced extended interswitching with a new "long-haul interswitching" provision, provided the Canadian Transporta on Agency with own-mo on inquiry powers on systemic or emerging rail freight issues under guidance from the Minister of Transporta on, redefined adequate and suitable service, and changed Maximum Revenue En tlement calcula ons to promote railway investment in hopper cars. The true measure of the success of the changes to the Canadian Transporta on Act will be in how they deliver measurable improvements in service performance and reliability. A key outcome of Bill C-49 is the launch of a regulatory process to develop rail service and performance indicators. The development of a comprehensive data regime to hold players accountable for their performance and track progress towards achieving the goals of the Transporta on 2030 strategy is essen al. With the passage of this bill, the industry must now turn its a en on to developing the work plan and comprehensive performance measurement system that meet the needs of individual companies and industries, and deliver what is intended with this legisla on. Transporta on was one of several impediments to ag sector growth that were raised by a endees like myself who were invited by Andre Corbould, the new Deputy Minister for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, to a roundtable mee ng to discuss barriers to economic growth for our sector. In addi on to transporta on, market access, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and Health Canada, which fall under federal jurisdic on, the people present also listed labour constraints and carbon tax as major barriers. Meanwhile, APG is on track to reduce its levy to 0.75% from 1% on August 1, 2018, as were the wishes of the majority of members who cast a vote at the annual general mee ng in January. APG is pursuing implementa on with the Alberta Agricultural Products Marke ng Council, and working to make sure that the organiza on will be in good shape to con nue par cipa ng in advocacy, educa on, research and other member priori es a er the levy reduc on takes effect. Despite the growing season being off to a late start in many parts of Alberta, I hope that you all have healthy crops coming up by the me this magazine reaches you. I also look forward to seeing many of you at the crop walks in which APG par cipates. This edi on of Pulse Crop News normally includes a lis ng of pulse-related crop walks for the summer, but organizers have indicated that they are wai ng to set dates un l they could reasonably determine when there would be well-established crops to see. Check the Events sec on of APG's website at www.albertapulse. com/event/ for more informa on on crop walks near you. CHAIR'S REPORT ADVOCATING FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO RAIL TRANSPORTATION D'Arcy Hilgartner, APG Chair 4

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