Conservative Ag Critic says the prospect of a rail strike happening now is unacceptable

The prospects of a CP Rail Strike are causing a lot of concern in the Ag sector.

John Barlow, the Conservative Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food says the idea of a rail strike at this time is frustrating,

"I would say unacceptable. When in the midst of a looming Global Food Crisis, just coming out of a pandemic, (certainly we've seen some some massive issues within our supply chain) that you're you're going to have a strike or potential job action on a critical piece of our infrastructure. This is unbelievable, that this is happening right now. "

He says the implications for agriculture, specifically, are profound, but it will also impact other important industries that are critical to Canada's economy.

"To do this when we are already in a critical situation within our supply chain, I think is extremely tone-deaf. And there will be zero sympathy for the union or for CP rail. So they had better resolve this as quickly as possible."

Barlow notes we're already feeling the impact of a potential strike.

"Suppliers in the United States are refusing to fill the rail cars because they do not want to have their rail cars stranded in Canada in the midst of a strike. So this is already being felt, and it'll certainly get worse."