Business community and BC United call for government to step in to end transit strike

Hours into a transit strike impacting about 300,000 daily commuters in the Lower Mainland, pressure is already mounting on the province to step in.

“How can the B.C. government allow the economy to be compromised?” said Anita Huberman, the president of the Surrey Board of Trade.

Harry Bains, the B.C. labour minister, repeatedly said Monday that the parties—CUPE 4500 and Coast Mountain Bus Company—should try to find a deal without the province intervening.

“The best deal that always I consider is for parties to get back to the bargaining table, hammer out their differences and negotiate a collective agreement that is acceptable to the both parties,” said Bains at a press conference on Monday.

Bain’s reaction is not surprising, said Hamish Telford, a political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley. “The NDP, as the party of labour, I think, has a very strong preference and inclination to have this resolved through the collective bargaining process,” said Telford.

The Opposition BC United pointed to previous bus strikes in the Fraser Valley and the Sea-to-Sky corridor, which lasted for months. Leader Kevin Flacon says the province should declare transit an essential service, meaning some workers would be back on the job while negotiations continue.

“The public relies on transit to get to appointments, to get to school, to get to work,” said Falcon Monday. “And to just stand back like the government is currently doing and say, ‘We’re taking a completely hands off approach,’ is not acceptable.”

Huberman worries the strike could to expand to SkyTrain—currently not impacted—and is urging the province to legislate workers back to the job, if a deal isn’t reached by Friday.

Bains flagged appointing a special mediator—likely Vince Ready—as the most probable way the province would get involved. It’s a role that would include heightened authority above a regular mediator.

“He would have options to make recommendations, which could become public,” said Bains.

No timeline for such an appointment was given, but for many, time is of the essence. The union says it will escalate its job action if a deal isn’t reached by Wednesday morning.