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OTTAWA • Canadian grain farmers, facing pinched cash flows just ahead of their critical spring seeding season, received some good news from Ottawa Tuesday, with a promise to put pressure on Canada’s two major railways to clear a growing backlog of grain shipments.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay have written jointly to Canadian National and Canadian Pacific to express their “serious concerns” about the failure of the railways to meet the expectations of shippers and customers over the winter.

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The two ministers say they understand that the railways have faced challenges due to a larger than expected grain crop last year and extreme winter weather.

Nevertheless, they call the railways’ performance “disappointing” and ask them to take further action.

The comments came a day before an emergency meeting of the House of Commons transport committee is scheduled to explore the backlog problem.