The first section of this document is a letter to the federal Minister of Transport from the facilitator charged with the task of achieving consensus among various stakeholders & working groups on resolving issues related to implementation of a new system for handling & transporting western Canadian grain. The letter offers observations about issues on which divided views are set out in the stakeholder's report that forms the second section. The stakeholder's report begins with background on the western grain handling & transportation system, related government policies, regulatory reform, and the 1998 report by Justice Estey that made recommendations for a less-regulated, more accountable, and more competitive system. It then reviews the stakeholder process and the problems with the current system. Finally, it discusses issues relating to a revenue cap, tariff structure, railway competition & safeguards, branch line abandonment, producer-owned grain cars, the transportation role of the Canadian Wheat Board, and efficiency gains to producers. The annex includes a summary of Estey report recommendations. The remaining sections are reports from three working groups on rates & revenues, commercial relations, and railway competition & safeguards. The working group reports include discussion of relevant grain handling & transportation issues, comments on the Estey report recommendations, and their own recommendations for reform.