Editorial: Cell companies bad, railways good

Editorial: Cell companies bad, railways good

Just as there’s good stress and bad stress, there’s good excitement and bad excitement. There’s the good excitement you get when watching the Grey Cup, especially if you’re a Riders fan. Then there’s the other kind of excitement (as in riled up) you got watching this year’s Grey Cup commercials about how the Harper government



Producer car shippers bypass plugged elevators

Producer car shippers bypass plugged elevators

A12-car train jerks to a steady rhythm every few seconds as part-time engineer Travis Long ever so slowly “stretches” the newly connected cars, while a roaring hum fills the locomotive’s cab. It’s the satisfying sound of grain moving to market via producer cars on the Boundary Trail Railway Company’s (BTRC) short line — 23 miles


Researcher wants to know if farmers are happy with the contracts they sign

Production, marketing, and technology-use contracts are increasingly common but are they fair to farmers or tilted in companies’ favour?

Lots of farmers don’t like them but are production, marketing, and technology-use contracts unfair to farmers? “We still hear from our members that the contracts are typically quite one-sided,” said Doug Faller, policy manager with the Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan. “Now with the changes to the wheat board and so on, the need for addressing

Loonie forecast to hold its own against U.S. greenback

The loonie will likely continue to weaken against the U.S. dollar, but should stay close to parity in medium to longer term, says ScotiaBank’s chief currency strategist. “The path of least resistance for the Canadian dollar in the near term is weaker,” said Camilla Sutton. However, lower global growth along with the less hawkish stance


Canadian dollar won’t move above parity any time soon

The Canadian dollar has seen significant declines compared to its U.S. counterpart in recent weeks, and isn’t expected to climb back above parity any time soon, according to currency analysts. The Canadian dollar has continued to move further and further below parity with the U.S. dollar, closing at US98.16 cents on Feb. 21. Although the

Strong finish prompts thoughts of longer seaway season

A late-season surge in grain shipments gave the St. Lawrence Seaway a solid increase in traffic for 2012 and is sparking interest in a longer shipping season. The seaway handled 38.9 million tonnes of cargo for the season, which began in mid-March and ran to Dec. 3. Mild winter weather meant it could have easily


Analyst predicts loonie to stay strong but not soar in 2013

The Canadian dollar should stay strong and level in the coming year, predicts a Toronto-based currency analyst. The loonie may see a slight rise in the coming weeks before levelling off, says Camilla Sutton, a currency strategist with Scotia Capital. “While the currency markets have been driven recently by the fiscal cliff situation in the

Railway revenues rekindle costing review calls

Canada’s two major railways once again tipped over the statutory cap revenues for shipping grain during the 2011-12 crop year — costing farmers an extra two cents per tonne. “It underscores again the need for a costing review to parallel the (rail) service review,” Bladworth Sask., farmer and agricultural economist Ian McCreary said in an