Canada’s largest port, the Port of Vancouver, is at a standstill this week, as labour negotiations between the B.C. Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 broke down and resulted in a lockout and strike on Monday.
This is not the first time this port has been impacted by labour disruptions even in the last 90 days. What’s more, the Port of Montreal is also closed to container traffic, as workers there are also on strike.
It adds up to a giant, expensive, frustrating mess of logistics, especially for Canada’s pulse and specialty crop markets, including lentils, mustard, and IP soybeans.
Greg Northey, vice president, corporate affairs for Pulse Canada, says that Canada’s labour code is simply not equipped to handle these seemingly-endless contract talk breakdowns.
Politically, parliament isn’t focused on anything but jockeying for position ahead of the next Canadian election, it seems, and neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives seem to have an appetite to offend unionized workers at such a crucial time.
But while all of the hot air is being produced on Parliament Hill, very real economic repercussions are mounting at Canada’s ports.
Northey says that the grains industry is working with other impacted industries to try and raise awareness of these strikes with the government, but is also beginning some in-depth work into labour law with a plan to offer up some meaningful change options that could help add dependability and consistency back to Canada’s logistics system.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | All Podcasts
