Rail disruptions threaten ag supply chain

Keystone Agricultural Producers says the ongoing labour dispute plaguing Canada’s railway system — including a potential strike by Canadian National Railway workers on Monday — is causing major disruptions to Manitoba’s agricultural supply chain.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference served Canadian National Railway Co. with a 72-hour strike notice on Friday. The move follows ongoing disruptions from a Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. stoppage, intensifying fears among producers and other stakeholders about the impact on shipping and logistics.

The Teamsters’ decision to issue the strike notice stems from a dispute over the federal government’s intervention in the collective bargaining process on Thursday.

The union, which represents thousands of rail workers, The union has challenged a directive for binding arbitration issued by Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to the country’s labour board. It argues that the government’s use of binding arbitration undermines workers’ rights to negotiate better wages and working conditions and hampers their ability to advocate for rail safety.

Fourteen members of the Teamsters union returned to the picket line outside the CPKC Brandon General Yard Office at 355 Pacific Ave. on Friday. CPKC workers went on strike at the same time a lockout came into effect early Thursday morning. CN employees are not yet in a legal strike position.

KAP general manager Brenna Mahoney told the Sun the strike notice comes at a particularly challenging time for agricultural producers in Manitoba, adding the Thursday lockdown has impacted the nation’s reputation for supplying the world with quality agricultural products.

“Our reputation, while hard-earned, is greatly threatened by these unnecessary disruptions in the supply chain,” Mahoney said in an email.

“As the Teamsters union served CN Rail with a 72-hour strike notice and CPKC stoppage continues, our reputation continues to be at further risk due to the uncertainty it creates.”

She added strikes and further work stoppages would have “a trickle-down impact on the ports and could cause panic buying for food stock with consumers in some grocery stores.”

Mahoney said agricultural producers, who rely heavily on rail transportation to ship product, are particularly vulnerable.

“Farmers have limited storage on farm, and the terminals also do not have so much capacity,” she said. “Our system is designed to get product to port and off to market.

“There are very limited options at this point for contingency plans for producers as they rely on reliable export of goods as much as our global customers.”

As the strike deadline approaches, KAP is urging the federal government to take swift action.

Mahoney called for all parties involved to return to the negotiating table, stressing the importance of continued rail operations.

“KAP is pleased to see the use of section 107 of the Canada Labour Code by Minister MacKinnon, but we are not out of the woods yet,” she said. “The rail lines still need to keep moving as discussions are happening. Canada cannot afford any disruptions.”