OTTAWA, Ontario — A Canadian judge has overturned a lower-court ruling that found CPKC in contempt of court in a case regarding excessive hours worked by train crews.
The Canadian Press reports Federal Court of Appeal Justice Donald Rennie acquitted the railroad, writing in his ruling that it is “impossible to rationalize a finding of contempt” given that CPKC took “meaningful steps” to comply with rest provisions under federal hours-of-service regulations.
Federal Court Justice Ann Marie McDonald found last year that the railroad was in contempt for “intentionally” violating hours-of-duty rules on 22 separate occasions between June 2018 and April 2019, in violation of a 2018 arbitration award [see “Canadian judge finds CPKC in contempt …,” Trains News Wire, June 8, 2023].
The railroad said in a statement to the Canadian Press that it was pleased with the ruling, while the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which filed the contempt motion, called the decision disappointing and claimed the railroad “routinely” violates its collective bargaining agreements.
The ruling comes as CPKC, Canadian National Railway, and the union about to begin government-ordered binding arbitration over a contract dispute that led to lockouts at the two railroads Aug. 22-25. An initial meeting to begin that arbitration process is set for today, Aug. 29 [see “Canadian agency upholds binding arbitration …,” News Wire, Aug. 24, 2024].
