29 January 2008
WGRF, Railway Strike a Deal
The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) has worked out an
arrangement with Canadian Pacific Railway that should save the research funding body about $47,000 in interest it would otherwise have
lost.
The WGRF will receive a cheque of $3.07 million from CPR. The payment is the amount owed to WGRF as a penalty for CPR exceeding its
government-imposed grain industry revenue cap for the 2006-07 crop year, minus money the WGRF should have
paid back to CPR when the railway successfully appealed the penalty for the 2005-06 crop year.
Last October, the Canadian Transportation Agency ruled in favour of a CPR appeal, which meant the previous payment to the grains
research institute was reduced by $870,000. By that time, the WGRF had already invested the money and had paid out research funds based
on the expected interest.
"CP has been flexible in not requiring the return of the overpayment back in October," says Lanette Kuchenski, WGRF executive
director. "This has helped WGRF avoid interest rate penalties that would have accrued from removing the money from
long-term investments."
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