A 2018-model Ford F-150. (Media.ford.com)

Ford recalls two million trucks over seat-belt fire concerns

Washington | Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said on Thursday it would recall two million F-150 pickup trucks in North America to address fire concerns relating to seat belts that have been linked to three serious incidents but no injuries. The second-largest U.S. automaker said it was aware of 17 reports of smoke or fire

Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau has said he will accept Senate amendments to the transport modernization bill.

Garneau agrees to Bill C-49 amendments

The federal transport minister will put forward a motion to accept Senate alterations to the bill

Transport Minister Marc Garneau says he will accept several amendments to his transport modernization bill proposed by the Senate and supported by farm and resource sector groups. A letter to shippers’ groups dated April 27 said the minister would present a motion in the Commons to amend Bill C-49 “to reflect changes the Senate has


Clock is ticking on electronic monitoring for transport trucks

Clock is ticking on electronic monitoring for transport trucks

Trucks carrying agricultural shipments into the U.S. will have a tighter leash on hours-of-service rules this year, and Canada isn’t far behind

Old-fashioned transport truck log books are becoming a thing of the past, and agricultural haulers are getting ready for the change. Both the U.S. and Canada hope to tighten compliance on how long drivers are on the road by switching out paper logs for mandatory electronic logging devices. “Driver fatigue is recognized in Canada and

(CPR.ca)

CP to chart weekly grain handling performance online

Canadian Pacific Railway plans to launch a new weekly “supply chain scorecard” next week, to chart its own performance handling Prairie grain. The Calgary company announced the new program Friday for an online launch Wednesday (Oct. 19), noting the scorecard “will include, when necessary, detailed information on any internal or external factors affecting grain movement” as

Prairie farmer groups want a meeting with federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau, shown here speaking in May at an international transportation summit in Leipzig, Germany.

KAP, APAS seek meeting with Garneau

Consultations on amending the transportation act end Sept. 16 and farm leaders say the minister needs to hear directly from farmers

When the then newly elected Liberal government promised further consultation on changes to the Canada Transportation Act, farm groups reacted with relief. Now that relief is turning to frustration and worry. Neither the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), Manitoba’s general farm organization, nor the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, have met with Transport Minister Marc Garneau,


Scott Streiner

CTA president says regulatory agency open for business

The agency is beefing up its informal mediation service that’s less costly and time-consuming 
than the quasi-judicial adjudication process

Scott Streiner is a name railway executives instantly recognize, but not most farmers… yet. That will change as the relatively new president and CEO of the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) continues to reach out to Canada’s agricultural sector, as he did on July 7 at the Pulse and Special Crops Convention. “The agency is here to

(CPR.ca)

CP, Teamsters dispute railway’s staffing obligations

Canadian Pacific Railway is refuting claims from one of its employees’ unions that the company is in “violation of the law” over layoffs of track maintenance staff. Calgary-based CP last month announced temporary layoffs effective June 30 affecting about 500 maintenance-of-way crew positions. On Tuesday it cited “business ebbs and flows associated with global markets

Transportation Minister Marc Garneau says the timeline to decide how to proceed on grain shipping is growing tighter as the July 31 expiration date for temporary measures draws nearer.

Government aware deadline for temporary rail measures drawing near

The recent release of CTA recommendations further complicates the decision, says transport minister

The federal government is grappling with a complicated question as the expiry date looms on emergency sanctions imposed on the railways in 2014: should they stay or should they go? Astronaut-turned-transport minister, Marc Garneau concedes the timeline is a tight one as the current measures — minimum weekly haulage targets, expanded interswitching and fines on


(Photo courtesy CN)

Transport review urges scrapping railway grain revenue cap

Winnipeg | Reuters — Ottawa should phase out over seven years its cap on the amount of revenue railways can earn transporting grain, a study for the Canadian government recommended Thursday, a move long urged by railways and opposed by farmers and grain handlers. A review of Canadian transportation laws, aimed at modernizing the system,

Drone regulations coming

Drone regulations coming

Farmers will need an operating permit

Farmers and other commercial users of drones should begin now to secure the required Transport Canada authorization for operating the unmanned air vehicles they use for scouting fields, crops and livestock. Drone licensing has become a hot ticket item in recent months because of the growing recreational interest in flying the units, said Natasha Gauthier,