Just ahead of both CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail locking out employees and/or unionized employees walking off the job Thursday, several industry voices are getting louder, calling on the Minister of Labour to use section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to avoid the strike entirely.
“The Canadian Meat Council (CMC) and the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) are urgently calling on the federal government to employ section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to avoid the unprecedented damage to industry this disruption to service will cause,” the groups say in a press release regarding the August 22 deadline for the rail strike.
Employing section 107 would direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to help parties reach an agreement under binding arbitration and suspend the ability for either lockouts or strikes pending an agreement.
Some livestock processing plants anticipate losing up to $3 million dollars per week, say the councils. The initial impact will be a delay in customer deliveries, followed by a plant shutdown within 7 to 10 days of strike action. Once the rails resume it will take two to five weeks for plants to ramp back up to normal capacity.
“The Canadian pork industry relies on the seamless operation of our transportation networks to feed our animals and deliver high-quality products to global markets. The ongoing rail and port disruptions threaten the livelihood of our producers, the welfare of our animals, and Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner,” says Rene Roy, chair, Canadian Pork Council. “It is crucial that the federal government takes action to ensure the movement of perishable goods like pork and essential supplies like animal feed. The feed our pigs rely on to survive is shipped by rail, and without a reliable and steady supply, their welfare is at risk. The stakes are simply too high to allow these disruptions to go unaddressed.”
Fertilizer Canada is also urgently calling on the federal government to take immediate action to prevent a work stoppage on both railways through binding arbitration that prohibits Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) from undertaking strike action and CN Railway and CPKC from lockout action.
“A work stoppage at both railways will have devastating impacts on Canada’s economy, our reputation as a reliable trading partner, and global food security. The time for action is now,” says Karen Proud, president and CEO of Fertilizer Canada. “We can no longer patiently wait for a resolution. The federal government must protect Canada’s economy and food security by ordering binding arbitration.”
Disruptions impacting all rail services across the country will cost the fertilizer industry an estimated $55-63 million per day in lost sales revenue, not including logistical and operational costs. The railways move an average of 69,000 Mt of fertilizer product per day, which is equivalent to four to five trains.
“In the last seven years, Canadian supply chain labour disruptions have cost the fertilizer industry nearly a billion dollars,” says Proud. “These stoppages are doing immense damage to our reputation as a reliable trading partner. Our customers, who rely on Canadian fertilizer products, are being forced to turn to our competitors in Russia, Belarus, and China. We can’t afford for our railways to shut down, and we can’t afford a passive approach to our supply chains any longer. We need long-term solutions.”
The fertilizer industry is among the first to experience slowdowns during a rail labour disruption. On August 12th, the movement of some ammonia fertilizer products was halted when they were embargoed. Leading up to the potential labour disruption, the railways have issued further embargoes, including U.S. railways halting shipments to Canada, with service beginning to slow down.
75 per cent of all fertilizer produced and used in Canada is moved by rail, with minimal transportation alternatives. Canadian, American, and international farmers rely on Canadian fertilizer to maximize crop yields. Notably, 90 per cent of Canadian-produced fertilizer destined for the U.S. market is delivered by rail, underscoring the importance of a reliable rail network for North American agriculture.
In a press release published August 20th, National Corn Growers Association urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resolve the dispute between the national railways and union leaders that could result in a strike interrupting rail service into the U.S.
“If a strike shuts down rail service from Canada into the U.S., it will adversely impact America’s farmers who rely on rail to ship goods between the two countries,” says NCGA president Harold Wolle. “We encourage Prime Minister Trudeau, the Teamsters and Canadian rail workers to do everything possible to avoid such a strike.”
Canada is the third-largest destination for U.S. agricultural exports and the second-largest source of agricultural imports, says NCGA. Of great concern to corn growers, a strike could interrupt shipments of fertilizer imports and exports of ethanol, corn and byproducts used as animal feed.
