The Ag Transport Coalition describes itself as “representing the coalition of agriculture associations that have come together to jointly fund the Growing Forward 2 initiative aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the agriculture supply chain.” Coalition members include the Alberta Wheat Commission, the Canadian Canola Growers Association, the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association, the Inland Terminal Association of Canada, the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association, Pulse Canada, and the Western Grain Elevator Association. Growing Forward 2 is a five-year, C$3 billion investment program paid for by Canadian taxpayers and overseen by Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz.
“The use of public funds to drive a single, self-serving agenda under the guise of solving large, complex supply chain issues is unconscionable,” said CP CEO (and Railway Age Railroader of the Year) E. Hunter Harrison. “CP calls on the Ag Transport Coalition to look broadly at the supply chain and seek input from, and dialogue with, other links in the supply chain—from ports to elevators to terminals. It is our belief that any discussions about commodity movement should include all pieces of the supply chain puzzle. It is disingenuous for the Ag Transport Coalition to say it wants to improve the agricultural supply chain if it doesn’t want to involve transportation stakeholders in the discussion.”
“A big part of CP’s transformation over the past two and a half years from industry laggard to railway leader is the result of collaboration and coordination with its customers,” Harrison noted. “The innovative solutions CP has implemented to improve efficiency and velocity throughout its network—including the Dedicated Train Program—is a direct result of consultation with, and input from, shippers and producers of agricultural products. The economic prosperity of the Canadian agricultural sector is central to the prosperity of the entire nation, and CP believes an efficient and fluid 24/7 supply chain is a key to the prosperity of all.”