Teamsters picket on 1st Avenue in Prince George

By CKPG Today with files from Canadian Press

Economy

Update: Labour minister stepping in to get trains moving again

Aug 22, 2024 | 9:03 AM

PRINCE GEORGE — Update: Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is stepping in to get trains moving again after an unprecedented lockout by the country’s two largest rail companies.
He will use his powers under Section 107 of the Labour Code to ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose final, binding arbitration.
He’s also asked the board to order the railways to resume operations under the terms of the current collective agreements until new deals are in place.
MacKinnon says the collective bargaining process is ultimately up to the companies and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union, but the lockout is affecting all Canadians.
After months of increasingly bitter negotiations, shipments at Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. ground to a halt last night as talks broke off.
Both railways have called for binding arbitration, but the union rejected those calls.

Earlier: Rail workers have taken to picket lines across the country, including on 1st Avenue in Prince George, after Canada’s two major railways shutdown operations overnight.

Workers were locked out by Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City in their first-ever simultaneous stoppage.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says the moves will lead to a decrease in availability of grocery and drug store goods, including baby formula.

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The two railways haul a combined one-billion dollars in goods each day, and the dispute has also affected tens of thousands of commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, whose lines run on C-K-P-C owned tracks.

The Prince George Chamber of Commerce is urging the government to take immediate action.

The Chamber says the government has an obligation to protect the Canadian public – noting Prince George serves as an essential connection to the dozens of rural and remote communities and first nations reserves across north central British Columbia.

All sides were set to return to the bargaining table Thursday (Aug.22) morning.