Rail cars wait for pickup in Winnipeg in this file photo from Sunday, March 23, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau is signalling he won’t cough up money for new rail cars to ship Alberta oil, saying it would take months and wouldn’t solve the current price collapse. Morneau, in an interview with The West Block on Global News that aired on Sunday, said the province of Alberta could buy rail cars with industry should it choose to, but that the federal government is focussed on building the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Rail cars take a significant amount of time to acquire, he said. “Our estimate is it might take at least nine months, perhaps longer, to actually get more rail,” Morneau said, according to an advance transcript. “If that’s a decision that the Alberta government and the industry wants to take, that’s a decision that can be taken.” Canada’s government is said not to favour Alberta’s proposal to buy trains to boost crude shipments on rail by 120,000 barrels daily. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has said she might buy the rail cars herself. Morneau’s budget update, released on Nov. 21, included billions in broad-based […]
