Rail workers picket in front of CN headquarters on the first day of a nationwide rail shutdown, after workers were locked out by CN and CPKC when new contract agreements weren't reached by the midnight deadline, in Montreal, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
OTTAWA – Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is set to provide an update Thursday afternoon about the lockout at Canada’s two biggest rail companies.
Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers after the parties did not agree on new contracts before a midnight deadline.
While visiting a manufacturing facility in Sherbrooke, Que., on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government was working “to make sure that the right solution is found quickly for the economy.”
A spokesman for MacKinnon said a news conference was scheduled in Ottawa at 4:30 p.m. E.T.
Business groups have urged the government to step in with binding arbitration or back-to-work legislation, warning that the shutdown will have massive economic consequences.
While the economic cost of the work stoppage is staggering, the lockout also comes at a time when all federal parties are courting the labour vote. Moody’s warned that the work stoppage could cost the Canadian economy $341 million per day, with agriculture, forestry and manufacturing among the hardest-hit sectors.
The Conservatives, who have been taking steps to strengthen relationships with unions, voted earlier this year in favour of legislation that bans replacement workers at federally regulated workplaces. Leader Pierre Poilievre has been clear he’s looking for the support of unionized blue-collar workers.
Jagmeet Singh said the New Democrats will not support back-to-work legislation or any interference in the bargaining process.
The NDP leader also criticized the companies for locking out their employees and said they should be bargaining with Teamsters Canada.
Speaking to reporters in Montreal on Thursday, Singh said the NDP will vote against back-to-work legislation even if becomes a confidence vote in Parliament.
The NDP agreed in 2022 to support the minority Liberal government on confidence measures in exchange for movement on key priorities, including pharmacare and dental care.
However, Singh said, it has been his party’s position since the “very beginning” that if Liberals were to bring in back-to-work legislation and call it a conference vote, “we will vote against that every single time.” He also said New Democrats would considered the deal to be broken if a confidence vote were to happen.
If it opts to turn to back-to-work legislation, the Liberal government would need to seek support from either the Conservatives or the Bloc Québécois.
Neither party had commented about the lockout by mid-afternoon and neither answered questions from The Canadian Press.
The last time the Liberal government enacted such a law was in 2021, to end a strike by dockworkers at the Port of Montreal.
A spokesman MacKinnon said the minister was in meetings on the rail shutdown all day and was following the matter closely.
MacKinnon said Thursday on X that he had spoken to his American counterpart about the work stoppages and the importance of the rail sector to both countries.
American officials are tracking the situation closely.
The U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, said his State Department colleagues have expressed concern about the ramifications for cross-border trade.
“While the embassy does not take sides or intervene in Canadian labour disputes, we hope for a speedy resolution and encourage all the parties to remain at the bargaining table and to reach a settlement as quickly as possible,” Cohen said in an emailed statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2024.
