'None of us want to be here': Work stoppage begins for CP Rail workers

Work stoppage is now underway for Canadian Pacific Railway workers.

The company and the union representing employees failed to reach an agreement over the weekend, bringing trains across Canada to a halt.

It's CP’s eighth work stoppage in nine trips to the bargaining table and it couldn't have come at a worse time for the Canadian supply chain.

CP Rail issued a 72-hour lockout notice on Wednesday to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, the union that represents the company's roughly 3,000 employees.

“The union unfortunately had to follow up with strike notice in order to protect our members, so we're both locked out and on legal strike,” said Jason Hnatiuk, a local chairman and strike captain.

He was one of about a dozen CP Rail employees who marched with signs in the pouring rain at the picket line outside the Port Coquitlam yard Monday morning.

“Spirits are high, but none of us want to be here. This was never our intention,” said Hnatiuk.

The company and union both blamed each other for causing the work stoppage, though both also said they were still talking with federal mediators on Sunday.

“We are deeply disappointed that, in the final hours before a legal strike or lockout was to potentially occur, the TCRC negotiating committee failed to respond to the company’s latest offer that was presented to them by the federal mediators,” said Keith Creel, CP’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement.

Industry leaders and politicians are calling on the federal government to table back-to-work legislation immediately.

They warn the consequences to the supply chain, already battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty in northern Europe, could be severe.

"It's going to mean that less goods make it to the shelves and those that do make it to the shelves are going to be higher priced because they're harder to get now,” said Moshe Lander of Concordia University's department of economics.

The House of Commons resumes Monday following a two-week break, so legislation could come immediately if the government so chooses.

Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president Bridgitte Anderson wants Ottawa to act now to end the dispute. 

 

“The options include essential service designation, back to work legislation or binding arbitration. And one of those steps needs to be taken so this doesn’t drag out any longer,” said Anderson, adding: “There’s is a real urgency to resolve this issue."

 

However, federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan Jr. indicated in a tweet Sunday that he believes the best deal is reached at the bargaining table.

 

“There are always challenges in bargaining, but you push through them to get the agreement you need. CP and Teamsters Rail continue their work today. Canadians are counting on a quick resolution” tweeted O’Regan.

CP employees are calling for better wages, pensions and working conditions.

Hnatiuk said despite the financial hit workers are taking, they will remain at picket lines for as long as it takes to reach an agreement.

THE IMPACT AT THE GROCERY STORE

Experts say it’s hard to predict how the work stoppage will impact the average consumer.

“If it lasts longer than eight to 10 days, we're going to be in trouble,” said Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of agri-food analytics lab at Dalhousie University.

Charlebois says supply chain issues will be felt particularly on the West Coast.

“Farmers will be looking for fertilizers. Farmers out west will be looking for grain coming from the U.S. to feed livestock as well,” he explained.

Another concern is getting goods in and out of the Port of Vancouver, which he estimates sees up to about $13 billion worth of agri-food products a year.

“That flow will be compromised as a result of the lockout as well. So we could actually see some empty shelves at the center of the store in some locations around the country,” said Charlebois.

He says each passing day, the dispute worsens supply chain issues.

“It would take CP Rail a week, per day of disruption to recover, to actually go back on schedule. So that tells you how significant every single day can be,” said Charlebois.

He believes any resulting price hikes will happen in the meat department.

“If producers can't get grains to feed cattle, they'll go to auction earlier. And if they do that, inventories will get lower, and prices will again skyrocket in the summer and fall,” he said.

These increases are on top of already rising prices at the grocery store largely due to the rising price of gas. 

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Ben Nesbit