Train yards across Canada fell silent the morning of Aug. 22 as CN and CPKC locked out more than 9,000 employees represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference after the two sides couldn’t reach new negotiated agreements.
The Canadian ag industry is looking to the federal government to step in and end the stoppage to reduce the effects on agriculture.
The Canola Council of Canada, Canadian Oilseed Processors Association and Canadian Canola Growers Association, are calling on Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to “invoke section 107 of the Canada Labour Code and bring swift resolution to this work stoppage through binding arbitration while suspending the ability for lockouts or strikes pending an agreement,” the organizations said in an Aug. 22 statement.
Under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, the minister can “do what he or she deems expedient to maintain or secure industrial peace…”