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Gratton said his association has been broadly supportive of the sweeping Transportation Modernization Act, which he said goes further than past attempts to “level the playing field” between shippers and carriers, but warns that the rejection of the two amendments threatens to undo any progress made elsewhere in the bill.

“They essentially neutered it — they strengthened the hand of the government, and in doing so weakened the independence of the agency,” he said. “We would have rather they had done absolutely nothing.”

CN spokesperson Patrick Waldron would not comment about specific amendments, but said “we are for swift passage of the bill.”

Anxieties over Bill-49 come as a shortage of railcars continues to plague miners, oil producers, forestry companies, grain farmers and others, costing firms billions in foregone revenues.

Potash and fertilizer giant Nutrien Ltd. last week announced temporary layoffs for around 600* people at its Vanscoy and Allan mines in Saskatchewan, partly as a result of backlogs in shipments.

Richard Downey, the vice-president of Nutrien’s investor and corporate relations, said rail backlogs were only one small factor in the layoffs, but said an increase in potash output this year has indeed restricted some shipments. He emphasized that the layoffs were only temporary.

“We’re down for a few weeks — that’s not quite very uncommon,” he said.

In early March, Garneau sent a letter to both CN and CP compelling them to outline plans to reverse the persistent rail backlog. Both companies blamed the colder-than-average winter and high production of grain as a reason for the shortfall.