FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2020
Ottawa, ON – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must act decisively to prevent a complete shutdown of Canada’s rail system at a critical time for the fertilizer industry and our farmer customers who need our products in time for spring seeding.
“Fertilizer Canada supports the right to peaceful protest, but key railway blockades are crippling the movement of essential goods and will do irreparable harm to the economy and Canada’s agriculture industry unless they are ended”, said Garth Whyte, President and CEO at Fertilizer Canada.
Farmers are trying to make up for terrible harvest weather in 2019 that also prevented fall application of ammonia fertilizer in many parts of the country.
“We were already facing a challenge to help farmers catch up and get the fertilizer they need in time for seeding in April and May. They can’t afford this kind of chaos,” said Mr. Whyte.
We urge the federal government and the provinces to resolve the dispute with Indigenous people or enforce the law of the land.
“We are only now recovering from the impacts from the CN Rail strike that happened just a few months ago. There couldn’t be a worse time to pile on with another railway disruption,” said Mr. Whyte.
Shipments are at risk every day these disruptions continue and as a world-class exporter of fertilizer, repeated disruptions to the supply chain will have a compounded effect on both Canada’s global competitiveness and overall economic prosperity. Prime Minister Trudeau must provide any required support to get our trains running again.
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Fertilizer Canada represents manufacturers, wholesale and retail distributors of nitrogen, phosphate, potash and sulphur fertilizers. The fertilizer industry plays an essential role in Canada’s economy, contributing $23 billion annually and over 76,000 jobs. The association is committed to supporting the fertilizer industry with innovative research and programming while advocating sustainability, stewardship, safety, and security through standards and Codes of Practice. Please visit fertilizercanada.ca.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Rabya Khanan
Communications Manager
(613) 786-3035
Fertilizer Canada urges Prime Minister Trudeau to lift blockades_PDF
