Canadians await details on railway reopening after feds intervene in labour dispute

Businesses and industry leaders are anxiously awaiting updates on when Canada’s freight trains could start moving again now that the federal government has intervened in a work stoppage that halted all shipments for a full day.

Following months of increasingly fraught bargaining, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co. locked out workers after the two sides failed to reach a deal by 12:01 a.m. eastern time on Thursday.

Later that day, federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration on the parties.

He also asked the board to order the railways to resume operations under the terms of the old collective agreement until new deals are in place.

Following the minister’s announcement, CN said in the evening that it had lifted its lockout in anticipation of a formal order from the board, while CPKC said it was preparing to restart operations.

CPKC also said in a statement the CIRB called an urgent meeting Thursday evening about getting service resumed, but noted the Teamsters union refused to discuss resuming service and wants to make submissions to challenge the constitutionality of MacKinnon’s direction.

The work stoppage has affected not only supply chains across the country, but also tens of thousands of commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver whose lines run on CPKC-owned tracks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2024.