Canada rail shutdown begins as employees locked out

Posted August 22, 2024 12:19 am.

Last Updated August 22, 2024 8:11 am.

Trains across the country have ground to a halt as both of Canada’s major railways locked out 9,300 workers after they failed to agree on a new contract before a 12:01 a.m. EDT deadline.

The shutdown marks the first-ever simultaneous work stoppage at Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

The Railway Association of Canada says the shutdown halts about $1 billion in goods traffic each day, some of which was preemptively stopped to avoid having cargo stranded in the event of a stoppage.

CN said they formally locked out workers after the union did not respond to another offer by CN in a final attempt to avoid a labour disruption.

“Without an agreement or binding arbitration, CN had no choice but to finalize a safe and orderly shutdown and proceed with a lockout,” read their statement.

A phased wind-down at CN and CPKC was already underway Wednesday evening as negotiators struggled to find common ground in contract talks with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, with wages and scheduling as key sticking points.

The parties remained in talks into the evening, but there was no word of an agreement as the clock hit 12:01 a.m. ET. CPKC and union representatives sat down separately with Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon in Calgary earlier in the day.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said in a statement that despite months of good faith negotiations, “parties remain far apart, and both CN and CPKC have begun their employer-driven work stoppage.”

Over the past several days, the Teamsters have put forward multiple offers, none of which were seriously considered by either company,” read their statement. “The main obstacles to reaching an agreement remain the companies’ demands, not union proposals.”

Earlier in the day, business groups pleaded for Ottawa to step in and prevent the work stoppage that would upend supply chains — while the prime minister stressed a deal at the table is the best outcome.

Under the Canada Labour Code, the federal labour minister can refer the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for binding arbitration and prohibit a strike or lockout in the interim business groups.

Alternatively, they suggested the government recall Parliament and pass back-to-work legislation — a step taken by a previous Conservative government during a rail strike in 2012, and a move it threatened to make in 2015.

Canadian Pacific barred virtually all new shipments on Tuesday morning, and CN did the same Wednesday to avoid leaving any goods stranded on the tracks.

Industries hit hardest by the stoppage include agriculture, mining, energy, retail, automaking and construction.

Due to the work stoppage, more than 32,000 rail commuters across the country will now also have to find new routes to the office.

Transit authorities have said select commuter lines that run on Canadian Pacific tracks in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will be suspended should dispatchers walk off the job.

The commuter lines affected by the work stoppage are TransLink’s West Coast Express in the Vancouver area, Metrolinx’s Milton line and the Lakeshore line’s Hamilton GO station in the Greater Toronto Area, and Exo’s Candiac, Saint-Jérôme and Vaudreuil/Hudson lines in the Montreal area, among others.

“Please be advised that in the event of a work stoppage at Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), potentially taking effect on August 22, VIA Rail would, unfortunately, have to suspend trains 185 and 186 on its Sudbury – White-River service without alternative transportation, until the issue is resolved,” VIA Rail said in a statement.

“Impacted customers are being contacted directly to inform them of the situation. They can also autonomously modify their reservation or opt for a full refund at no cost online.”

Retailers are worried about the ripple effects as well.

“Product is not being loaded onto various forms of transportation because of the expectation that it could just get backlogged and stuck,” said Michelle Wasylyshen, a spokeswoman at the Retail Council of Canada.

“We’re looking at holiday shopping products, Halloween products, even food items.”

— With files from Tara Deschamps in Toronto, Nojoud Al Mallees in Outaouais, Que., and Aaron Sousa in Edmonton