Takeaways and questions arising from the shutdown of railways across Canada

Opinion

It has been quite the past week in covering the events leading up to the Canada-wide rail strike and lockout. Then on Thursday afternoon, just 17 hours after the lockout began, the federal labour minister initiated Section 107 to force binding arbitration through the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

With the union serving a new 72-hour strike notice to CN for August 26, and a potential legal challenge by the union on the government’s order regarding CPKC, this drama could take a few more turns, but we thought it would be good to reflect further takeaways and questions that the past two weeks have spawned for our editorial team:

• Is all this drama worth the cost to the economy? – This is a common question in my inbox, which is not meant to discriminate against the collective bargaining process, but scrutinize the opportunity cost of the current process. Without long-term solutions to solve Canada’s recent run of labour impasses, export-oriented industry groups fear that major damage is being done to Canada’s reputation as a reliable supplier. This is even true with our closest ally and trading partner, the United States, which relies heavily on Canadian products like oil, fertilizer, and the geographical convenience for exports.  If the government was going to wait less than 24 hours to invoke Section 107, why bother letting the lockout happen? There was a slowdown in shipping over the past two weeks in preparation of a strike, which has created economic costs far beyond a one-day strike.
• Are there long-term solutions to these impasses? Do Canadians have the desire to fix the issues? Building on the point above, is there political will in Canada among the parties or even a viable push from Canadians for solutions to the recent labour issues? Based on reductions to GDP and a deteriorating reputation abroad, Canada needs to search for answers to a fundamentally difficult problem of respecting collective bargaining rights without the entire country being held hostage as labour negotiations sputter. This is the first time both CN and CPKC saw stoppages at the same time, but we’ve seen many rail worker strikes over the past two decades, with deep costs borne by the grain industry and other shippers. We’re seeing increased threat of work stoppages in other unionized workplaces that are critical for trade as well, such as ports and airlines. Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said the government will be examining why this is happening, but is there an appetite to figure out long-term solutions to mitigate the disruption and chaos that hurts the entire Canadian economy?
• Both Liberals and Conservatives see the blue collar labour vote as a key category in the next federal election. The Liberals slowed played dipping into the process to prevent a strike and the Conservative leader and shadow critic for labour were entirely mute on the subject, before and after the use of Section 107. How the Teamsters union reacts to the Liberals’ use of Section 107 and whether the Conservatives ever chime in will continue to be fascinating developments in the chase for union support once tied up by the NDP.
• Did the Teamsters just pass Quebec dairy farmers on the Canadian voter power rankings? In past political cycles dairy farmers have been the block of voters that political parties have fallen over each other to gain approval from. There are many examples of political parties of all stripes attempting to prove their love of supply management was greater than their political competitors. Private member’s bill C-282 is a recent example, as it flew through the House of Commons. The Liberals have thrown millions at creating electric vehicle jobs and the Conservatives want tariffs on EVs coming from China to protect domestic union jobs. With the rail strike, both major parties have been very quiet for one reason, not offending the union and appearing to support two large corporations. Unions realize they have political power in this current environment and in the next Canadian election.
• Why do we have a Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food if this strike was not a reason to speak up on behalf of the industry? The most common text I received this week was, have you heard from MacAulay? In a week that involved immense threat to the domestic operations and exports of the agricultural industry, Minister MacAulay was silent. His office sent us a statement on his behalf ahead of the strike deadline, but it contained exactly the same talking points shared by Labour Minister MacKinnon and other cabinet ministers — no indication that he was standing up in defense of the agriculture sector’s interests. Once again enabling the question of what is the point or reason for an agriculture minister if silence is the strategy in a week like this?  While labour relations between railways and the TCRC are not under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s umbrella of responsibility, the economic health and success of the agriculture industry is.
• Despite several years talking about supply chains, politicians and voters still don’t understand how the economy works. After an incredibly disruptive pandemic that brought supply chains and their lack of resiliency into the mainstream, we have apparently learned little. The hoarding of toilet paper and the lack of new vehicles due to a semi-conductor chip shortage is apparently a distant memory. The vast majority of what we buy, make, and sell in Canada is moved by train at some point. This is what enables tax revenue that pays for all the things people expect from government, but Canadians and elected officials seemed apathetic as news organizations focused more on stories, such as “why are wasps so bad this year?” and other personal interest tales. We have it very good in Canada, maybe too good. We still cannot get our heads wrapped around how that Amazon package gets to our front door, how food gets to the grocery store or what the trains are hauling across the country everyday to make our lifestyles possible.

Let us know your thoughts on the list and whether we missed some.  You can send an email to [email protected], and share your perspectives.