(The Canadian Press circulated the following on January 14, 2009.)
SASKATOON, Sask. — A Saskatchewan man is suing Canada’s major railways claiming they have overcharged western farmers for shipping their grain since 1983.
The lawsuit filed by Gordon Wallace also claims Ottawa was negligent for letting Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railway overcharge producers.
Wallace, a grain farmer from Unity, said he wants his lawsuit to be certified as a class action so that other farmers can share in any proceeds.
The statement of claim contains allegations that have not been proven in court.
The lawsuit follows a ruling by the Canadian Transportation Agency last month that both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railway exceeded their revenue caps for crop year 2007-2008 for the movement of Western grain.
CN was almost $26-million over its federally approved revenue cap while the CPR was almost $34-million over.