Trudeau tells union, rail companies to solve issues at bargaining table ahead of massive strike

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encouraged rail companies and their union to reach a deal on their own, with just hours left to avoid a work stoppage that would bring the Canadian economy to a halt.

“My message is very straightforward. It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table to find a negotiated resolution,” he said. “Millions of Canadians, of workers, of farmers, of businesses right across the country are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution.”

CN Rail and Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail, two rail companies with networks spanning the U.S. and Canada, have both issued lockout notices to workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which would take place first thing Thursday.

The Teamsters have filed a strike notice against CPKC as well with the same deadline.

More than $1 billion in trade moves on rail lines owned by the two companies everyday, spanning the entire North American continent and feeding into ports at both ends of the country.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark and Perrin Beatty, who heads up the Canadian chamber, issued a joint statement Tuesday pleading with the government to intervene.

“A stoppage of rail service will be devastating to Canadian businesses and families and impose significant impacts on the U.S. economy,” they said in a joint statement. “Significant two-way trade and deeply integrated supply chains between Canada and the United States mean that any significant rail disruption will jeopardize the livelihoods of workers across multiple industries on both sides of the border.”

Despite the economic impacts, the Canadian Industrial Relations Board ruled earlier this month that the railway workers are not an essential service. Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon also rejected a request from CN to push the parties into binding arbitration last week.

Liberal sources said earlier this week that all options remain on the table however, including revisiting the issue of binding arbitration.

The Grain Growers of Canada estimated western Canadian farmers could lose as much as $50 million a day during a strike. The associations representing municipalities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba all urged the government to get involved.

Rural Municipalities of Alberta President Paul McLauchlin said it would be crippling for small towns.

“From the perspective of Alberta’s rural municipalities, this is not simply a labour issue; it is an economic development issue, it is a community sustainability issue, it is even a food security issue,” he said. “Not stepping in to protect rural livelihoods and communities will escalate this from a labour dispute into a situation that puts entire rural communities and industries at risk.”

The issue is not just one for rural Canada, commuter rail service in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver would be hit by the strike. Metrolinx, which oversees GO trains around Toronto said its Milton and Hamilton service would both be affected.

VIA Rail said its network would be able to operate largely without interruption, with the exception of a section of track between Sudbury and White River where it would have to cancel routes.

Trains wouldn’t be the only vehicles to see an impact from the strike. The National Airlines Council of Canada warned it would hit the country’s largest airport as well.

“Rail is a critical mode of transport in the aviation supply chain. For instance, 40 to 50 per cent of aviation fuel used at Toronto Pearson airport is shipped via rail,” he said. “Any interruption of service would not only result in disruptions to the aviation supply chain but would result in increased costs as a result of pursuing alternative methods of transport.”

More to come …

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