Federal Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon announced Thursday afternoon that he’s sent a dispute at two of Canada’s largest rail companies to binding arbitration, after a work stoppage left Toronto commuters scrambling in the morning and raised concerns about the impact of an extended stoppage on Ontario’s agriculture industry.
Under the Canada Labour Code, the federal labour minister has the power to send parties in a labour dispute to binding arbitration, which would prevent a work stoppage. MacKinnon previously rejected CN Rail’s request for binding arbitration on Aug. 15.
Toronto commuters felt the effects of the stoppage on Thursday after Metrolinx suspended GO train service on the Milton line and at Hamilton GO station. A spokesperson for Metrolinx said the decision to shut down service was made late Wednesday to provide customers with “as much certainty as possible” as they plan their commutes.
CBC News has reached out to Metrolinx for an update on its operations in light of the binding arbitration.
All traffic on two of the country’s major railways ground to a halt at 12:01 a.m. ET after contract negotiations between Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and the union representing some 9,300 rail workers broke down.
Some commuters arrived Thursday morning at GO Transit stations along the Milton line, which cuts through Mississauga to Toronto’s Union Station, only to learn service had been suspended.
“This is completely unacceptable, and we should have been informed earlier, said Om Sangekar, speaking outside the Cooksville GO station. “I’ll definitely be late for work.”
Service on all other GO lines, the UP Express and Lakeshore West line stations was unaffected.
Riders who use Hamilton GO station can access train service via West Harbour GO, Aldershot GO or use normally scheduled GO bus service on Route 16, Metrolinx said Thursday.
Customers on the Milton line were urged to use local transit options or access the GO network on the Lakeshore West or Kitchener lines, the agency said.
“We apologize for the inconvenience this disruption may cause,” Andrea Ernesaks said in an email. “Safety is our priority — while additional staff will be available to support customers, our services may be busier than usual.”
Shuttles were running every 30 minutes to take those at the Cooksville station to Port Credit’s GO hub, where they could catch a ride on the Lakeshore line.
Shraddha Mhatre, a commuter who arrived at the Cooksville station unaware of the stoppage, decided to work from home.
“I have some meetings scheduled in the mornings so I can’t take a chance to have any further delays,” she said.
Work stoppage means ‘a lot of trouble’ for supply chains
John Corey, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada, said the consequences of the work stoppage could be profound for a wide range of industries and consumers.
“It means that the supply chain is broken and anyone that uses rail services is literally stuck. Their business is over for now, until the strike is over,” he told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.
Trucking networks simply cannot replace the amount of goods and materials being transported by rail, he added.
“The ports essentially are going to shut down in a day or two because they have no exports and containers that are currently at the port can’t be removed. So once they clear the whatever they can by truck, everything is just going to stop. And we’re talking about supply chain that goes from Halifax to Vancouver,” Corey said.
If the labour dispute drags on, “we’re in a lot of trouble,” he continued. The availability of consumer goods, fresh food and essential industrial materials like chlorine used for water purification and propane for home heating and cooking, will all be affected.
“The trickle down effects are are right across the board,” Corey said.
Chris Burkholder, co-owner of Burkholder Farms in Markham, said he’s concerned the work stoppage will make Canadian goods less competitive on the global market.
He said as the agriculture industry turns to trucks instead of trains to meet their transportation needs, costs will go up, making Canadian products more expensive.
“The world needs us badly,” he said. “Every time we bung up the pipeline, it throws a wrench into that.”
Burkholder said transportation is a significant factor in the agriculture industry.
Last October, the St. Lawrence Seaway shut down after workers went on strike for a week. The full Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system serves over 100 ports and commercial docks, helping Canada’s Prairie provinces and the U.S. Midwest export goods.
Burkholder said the strike had a huge impact on Ontario agriculture. He said his farm, which grows grain corn, soybeans and wheat, was lucky to finish harvesting crops before the seaway closed for winter.
“There would have been thousands and thousands of acres left there on the field if those ships had stopped and not started again,” Burkholder said.
Food insecurity possible in rural areas: independent grocers
In many rural and remote communities, sometimes the only grocery store is an independent grocery store, said Gary Sands, senior vice president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers. There are about 6,900 independent grocery stores in Canada,
“If they’re not getting supply of goods and costs are going through the roof, we [will] have food security issues in those communities.”
Sands said the government should have invoked binding arbitration “one minute” after the lock out happened.
Dan Kelly, president of the CFIB, said businesses may struggle to stay afloat amid potential lost sales, particularly since many are still struggling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is not catching small businesses in a time of strength,” Kelly said in an interview with News Now.
In a statement, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called for both sides in the labour dispute to return to the bargaining table.
“The rail strike at CN and CPKC is already costing workers, transit users and businesses across the country, and we cannot afford to let things get worse,” Ford said.