Saskatchewan and Alberta are calling for tougher federal laws for the grain transportation system after a bottleneck that has left crops sitting in bins across the Prairies.Chuck Stoody/The Canadian Press
Saskatchewan and Alberta are calling for tougher federal laws for the grain transportation system after a bottleneck that has left crops sitting in bins across the Prairies.
An emergency order earlier this month from the federal government set minimum targets for railways of 11,000 cars a week and fines of up to $100,000 per day for failing to meet those targets.
But Saskatchewan says upcoming federal legislation should set a minimum of 13,000 grain cars per week and bump up the penalty to $250,000 per day.
Saskatchewan and Alberta both say money collected should benefit the farmers instead of landing in the federal coffers.
Alberta also says there should be increased rail-track access so grain shippers can receive competitive service from more than one rail company.
The legislation is expected to be tabled when Parliament returns next week.