Alberta, federal governments voice concerns at looming rail shutdown

Article content

The federal and Alberta governments are voicing concerns over the potential impact of a cross-country railway shutdown as the deadline for deals between workers and Canada’s two largest railways looms.

More than 9,300 conductors, engineers and yard workers could go on strike or be locked out of their jobs as soon as 10:01 p.m. Wednesday, barring a last-minute deal.

That follows a 72-hour strike notice issued late Sunday by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) to Canadian National (CN) Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).

Negotiations are ongoing between the union and each railway with federal mediators, but there have been few public signs of progress.

On Monday, Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon took to social media and implored the two sides to find a solution.

“These collective bargaining negotiations belong to CN Rail, CPKC and TCRC workers alone — but their effects will be borne by all Canadians,” MacKinnon said.

“The parties must do the hard work necessary to reach agreements at the bargaining table and prevent a full work stoppage. Canadians expect the parties’ efforts to be equal to the trust conferred on them.”

Article content

The union has said it is seeking improved crew scheduling, fatigue management and safety rules. It has also accused CPKC of wanting to “gut the collective agreement of all safety-critical fatigue provisions.”

The railways say they have made multiple offers that comply with new safety rules.

Talks between the union and the railways have been ongoing since November and the expiration of the most recent labour deals at the end of last year.

Over the weekend, Alberta Jobs, Economy and Trade Minister Matt Jones issued a statement calling on Ottawa to take immediate action to address the dispute and warned of the potential economic risks to Alberta and the rest of Canada.

“If negotiation agreements between each of the railways and workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference cannot be reached and workers are locked out, work stoppages at the railways will effectively shut down Canada’s rail network and vital supply chains,” it read.

Last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters a work stoppage would be “extraordinarily damaging.”

“It’s pretty clear to me that this is not something that can continue on for any length of time,” she said.

Article content

She also called on Ottawa to pursue binding arbitration or back-to-work legislation — options MacKinnon has so far rejected.

Both railways have said they are implementing progressive shutdowns of their rail traffic to avoid stranding freight.

In an update Sunday, CN said despite weekend negotiations, “no meaningful progress has occurred, and the parties remain far apart.”

In its own statement, CKPC said it issued an embargo on all dangerous goods shipments effective Monday and it will expand that embargo on Tuesday to include all shipments originating in Canada and all shipments originating in the U.S. bound for Canada.

Alberta exported 89,000 barrels of crude oil per day last May and averaged rail exports of 94,000 barrels per day since the start of the year, according to Statistics Canada data.

— with files from The Canadian Press

mblack@postmedia.com

Article content