Stakeholders on both sides of the border are asking the federal government to step in
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Do not let the flow of goods on Canadian train tracks come to a halt.
That’s the message multiple groups are sending to the Canadian government as unionized employees at CN and CPKC are prepared to strike or get locked out, respectively, on Thursday morning.
“On behalf of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture we urge you to immediately intervene and do everything necessary to end the labour disruption of Canada’s Class I railways,” CFA President Keith Currie said in an Aug. 16 letter to Prime Minister Trudeau, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon and Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez.
The CFA, along with the Wheat Growers Association, and the Canadian Canola Growers Association and the Canadian Meat Council (CMC), want Minister MacKinnon to use his authority to keep goods moving.
Under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, the minister can “do what he or she deems expedient to maintain or secure industrial peace…”
Using this authority would ensure rail service isn’t interrupted and help both sides reach an agreement through binding arbitration, the Canadian Meat Council (CMC) says.
If the rail stoppage is allowed to happen, the ag industry could face weeks of hardship, the CMC added.
“Some processing plants anticipate losing up to $3 million dollars per week. The initial impact will be a delay in customer deliveries, followed by a plant shutdown within 7-10 days of strike action,” it said in an Aug. 19 statement. “Once the rails resume it will take 2-5 weeks for plants to ramp back up to normal capacity.”
An Aug. 19 statement on X from the minister indicates he’s staying out of these negotiations.
“These collective bargaining negotiations belong to CN Rail, CPKC and (Teamsters Canada Rail Conference) workers alone – but their effects will be borne by all Canadians,” his statement says.
The Wheat Growers Association said in an Aug. 20 statement that Minister MacKinnon told the organization “that binding arbitration will not be used.”
Rail is a major contributor to Canadian exports.
In 2023, total annual rail freight carried in Canada was 375 million tonnes, Stats Canada says. That same year, total loaded and unloaded air cargo in Canada totaled about 1.4 million tonnes.
If the strike and lockout are allowed to occur, multiple industries, especially in ag, will feel the pinch.
“In addition to the shipment of agricultural products to market, farmers in many parts of Canada require a steady and stable supply of propane for grain drying, greenhouse production and heating and cooling of livestock barns,” the CFA’s letter says.
The Wheat Growers Association is also concerned with the silence coming from the federal ag minister.
Minister Lawrence MacAulay hasn’t issued a statement or any comment regarding the looming stoppage and its effects on ag.
“It is appalling that strike action by a few can hold a national economy hostage and we have heard nothing” from the ag minister, the Wheat Growers Association said in a statement.
U.S. stakeholders are expressing concern with the Canadian rail situation too.
An Aug. 19 letter signed by multiple national ag groups, for example, urges the Canadian government to maintain rail service – especially as harvest approaches.
“Agriculture ships more than 25,000 cars per week and this figure will go to zero during a strike or lockout. There are even higher volumes that would be lost during harvest,” the letter signed by groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association and National Pork Producers Council says.
The Environmental Protection Agency is warning that shipments of water treatment chemicals will be affected by the service disruption.
“Of these chemicals, chlorine presents the greatest challenge in the event of a rail service shutdown, as there is no viable alternative for rail shipment of chlorine in the volumes needed for water treatment,” the EPA said.