The federal government has referred the ongoing rail labor dispute to arbitration, but that may not guarantee services will resume.
Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway Kansas City (CPKC) locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers Thursday morning after the two companies could not agree on a new contract.
Labour Minister Steve McKinnon announced Thursday that the dispute will be referred to the Canada Labour Relations Board (CIRB) for binding arbitration under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code.
The railroads and many other business advocacy groups had called on McKinnon to send the matter to arbitration before the lockout, and to date he has refused that request, urging all parties to instead resolve the matter through negotiation.
“We’re at an impasse here. We absolutely wanted to give the negotiations the potential to come to a successful conclusion, but we see little prospect of that happening,” MacKinnon said Thursday.
Labour Minister Stephen McKinnon said he had instructed the Canada Labour Relations Board “to extend the term of the current collective agreements until new agreements are reached and to immediately resume service on both railways.”
Contract negotiations between the union and the two companies typically take place on a yearly basis, but CN has requested a one-year extension to its existing contract for 2022 after the federal government introduced new rules.
The first simultaneous shutdown of both rail systems has blocked the movement of goods worth about $1 billion.
Mark Thompson, a former labour arbitrator and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, said the unprecedented nature of the strike forced the government to act.
“No government can [work stoppage] “The suspension of both railways will continue for a long time. The impact on the economy will be too great,” he said.
Lisa Raitt, who served as labour minister under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government, said referring the dispute to the CIRB would not immediately end the strike. Raitt said the company and the union would first need to agree to binding arbitration.
“You can ask the parties to agree to binding arbitration, you can write to the CIRB and ask them to impose binding arbitration… but it’s not like the minister is going to write a letter and say everyone go back to work and we’re going to send it to binding arbitration,” she said.
“If I could find a lawyer who would say that’s possible, [for the minister to order the parties into arbitration]I wish I had taken their advice 15 years ago, but in my opinion, you can’t do it.”
McKinnon did not say Thursday that the strike would end as a result of his actions.
“We are confident that will happen,” he said.
“[The CIRB] They are independent and have a process that requires consultation with the parties. They will consult and they will make a decision, I hope very quickly.”
Asked about the timeline for rail service to resume, Mr McKinnon said it should happen “within the next few days”.
“Again, I want to respect the process that is going to unfold,” he said.
Both railroads released statements Thursday saying they would resume service following McKinnon’s announcement, but did not say when.
Invoking Section 107 of the Labor Code will not stop unions from striking. The Teamsters union, which represents railroad workers, said picket lines will remain in place while it considers its next steps.
Mr McKinnon’s predecessor, Seamus O’Regan, referred a labour dispute between WestJet and the Brotherhood of Aircraft Mechanics to the CIRB for arbitration in July. The board still allowed the strike to go ahead.
O’Regan also asked the board to go to binding arbitration during last summer’s British Columbia ports strike. The parties eventually reached an agreement two days later.
Thompson warned that frequent arbitration could have an impact on future labor negotiations.
“Negotiations can falter if the parties expect the issues to be resolved through arbitration,” he said.
“Governments have to take a long-term view. Virtually every employers’ association in the country is calling for arbitration, but they just want to get the problem resolved now, whereas if you’re the federal government, you have to worry about the next set of negotiations.”
Besides arbitration, the government could also reconvene Parliament to pass a back-to-work bill.
The Liberal Party has enacted back-to-work legislation in both countries. 2021 and 2018Raitt said it may be the only option in the circumstances, given the risks to the economy.
“I don’t think the federal government has any choice but to enact back-to-work legislation and then proceed with the process of entering into a collective bargaining agreement between the parties,” she said.
But Thompson said the government needs to be sure there are MPs in the House of Commons who will help pass the bill before the rare summer session that brings lawmakers back to Ottawa.
“No government can say, ‘I’m ordering this bill to be debated in Ottawa,’ and then not pass it,” he said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he doesn’t want to see any moves by the Liberal government to “hinder fair contract negotiations.”The shutdown of Canada’s two largest railways began early Thursday morning after labour talks collapsed.
The NDP has a confidence and supply agreement with the Liberal party that means its MPs will support a minority government in a confidence vote, and has called on the government to stay out of the dispute.
On Thursday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh accused the federal government of undermining workers.
“The Liberal party’s actions are cowardly and anti-worker and proof that they will always succumb to corporate greed and Canadians will pay the price,” he said in a statement.
“The lockouts are not over. Every employer knows that by refusing to negotiate in good faith with workers, they can get exactly what they want from Justin Trudeau — and it puts the safety of workers and communities at risk.”
CBC News has reached out to the Conservative party and the Bloc Québécois for comment on the train service shutdown but has not yet heard back.
