OTTAWA — The Canadian government has moved to end Canada’s freight rail work stoppage — the first to shut down both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City simultaneously.
However, while the two railroads say they are preparing to resume operations after Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon sent the dispute to binding arbitration, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference says it will maintain picket lines while it reviews MacKinnon’s action.
And the CBC reports that MacKinnon’s move might not bring an immediate end to the lockouts of TCRC engineers and conductors that began at the two railroads at 12:01 a.m. today (Aug. 22). Also locked out were rail traffic controllers at CPKC represented by the same union.
“These collective bargaining negotiations belong to CN Rail, CPKC and TCRC alone — but their effects, and the impacts of the current impasse, are being borne by all Canadians,” MacKinnon said. “As Minister of Labour, it is my assessment that the parties are at a fundamental impasse. Therefore, it is my duty and responsibility to invoke my authorities under the Canada Labour Code to secure industrial peace and deliver the short and long-term solutions that are in the national interest.”
The existing contracts between the TCRC and both railways will be extended until new agreements are signed. Negotiated agreements are always preferable, MacKinnon said, but the needs of the nation outweighed the need for a contract deal reached at the bargaining table.
“Workers, farmers, commuters and businesses rely on Canada’s railways everyday, and will continue to do so. It is the government’s duty and responsibility to ensure industrial peace in this critically vital sector,” MacKinnon said. “Thus, we will be examining why we experience repeated conflicts in the railway sector and the conditions that led to the parallel work stoppages we are seeing. Canadians can be assured that their government will not allow them to suffer when parties do not fulfill their responsibility. Especially where their livelihoods, worker safety, and communities are at stake.”
CN said in a statement this evening that it had ended its lockout as of 6 p.m. ET and initiated its recovery plan, acting in advance of a formal order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board “to expedite the recovery of the economy.
“While CN is satisfied that this labour conflict has ended and that it can get back to its role of powering the economy,” the railroad said in its statement, “the company is disappointed that a negotiated deal could not be achieved at the bargaining table despite its best efforts.
CPKC said it is preparing to restart operations and will provide further details about the timing once it receives the CIRB’s order.
“The Canadian government has recognized the immense consequences of a railway work stoppage for the Canadian economy, North American supply chains. and all Canadians,” CPKC CEO Keith Creel said in a statement. “The government has acted to protect Canada’s national interest. We regret that the government had to intervene because we fundamentally believe in and respect collective bargaining; however, given the stakes for all involved, this situation required action.”
The TCRC said it was keeping picket lines in place while it reviewed MacKinnon’s move, the response by the CIRB, and sought legal counsel. The union’s president, Paul Boucher, said the government’s action “allowed CN and CPKC to sidestep a union determined to protect rail safety. Despite claiming to value and honour the collective bargaining process, the federal government quickly used its authority to suspend it, mere hours after an employer-imposed work stoppage. … The two major railways in Canada manufactured this crisis, took the country hostage, and manipulated the government to once again disregard the rights afforded to working-class Canadians. “
Boucher called the decision “shameful” and said the government had made the decision “only because they knew their minority could not gather the support needed to pass a legislated resolution to appease the railways.” The union subsequently announced it will hold a rally outside CPKC headquarters in Calgary on Friday, Aug. 23, at 9 a.m. MT.
Meanwhile, Lisa Raitt, labor minister under former prime minister Stephen Harper, told the CBC that the parties still have to agree to arbitration: “Maybe you can write to the CIRB and ask them to impose binding arbitration … but there’s no way a minister can write a letter and say that everyone goes back to work and I’m sending you to binding arbitration.”
MacKinnon said he is “confident” that his move will end the shutdown, but hedged in saying it would definitely do so, noting that the CIRB is an independent body.
“They have a process that requires consultation with the parties,” he said. “They will be doing that and rendering a decision, I hope very quickly. … I want to be deferential to the process that will unfold.”
CN and CPKC had both sought arbitration to end the dispute, with MacKinnon last week denying a request from CN to require arbitration [see “Canada’s labor minister won’t send …,” News Wire, Aug. 15, 2024]. At the time, MacKinnon said it was the “shared responsibility” of CN and the union to negotiate in good faith.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a post on X.com that while collective bargaining is preferred, “When that is no longer a foreseeable option — when we are facing serious consequences to our supply chains and the workers who depend on it — governments must act.”
Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez, reacting to MacKinnon’s move, wrote on X.com that the government “is acting to preserve the stability and certainty that our entire economy is renowned for across the world.”
The premiers of two prairie provinces with economies heavily reliant on rail transport — Scott Moe of Saskatchewan and Danielle Smith of Alberta, who had both called for federal action — welcomed the intervention in comments on X.com. Moe wrote that the government “took the appropriate action … to end the rail stoppage and ensure our Canadian products are moving to market again.” Smith wrote that she was “pleased to see” that MacKinnon had taken action.
— Substantially revised and updated at 6:58 p.m. CT, including comments from Teamsters Canada Rail Conference; updated at 8:05 p.m. CT with union plans for rally at CPKC headquarters.
