2024 Canada railway shutdown

2024 Canada railway shutdown
Date	Began August 22, 2024
Location	Canada
Methods	Two railway companies have locked out workers Union has served a formal strike notice Federal government is seeking binding arbitration
Status	Ongoing
Parties to the civil conflict
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Canadian National Railway Canadian Pacific Kansas City Federal government

The 2024 Canada railway shutdown is a freight railway labour-business dispute. The shutdown began on August 22, 2024, when the Canadian National Railway Company and Canadian Pacific Kansas City failed to reach an agreement with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and locked out over 9,300 employees. On the same day, Minister of Labour Steve MacKinnon referred the matter to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, directing binding arbitration. He stated that operations would resume within days.

The next day, August 23, 2024, the Teamsters union served a formal strike notice on CN, stating that it does not believe the issues between the union and the employer are insurmountable. It is not clear what effect that strike notice will have in relation to the direction for arbitration. As well, one professor of business law, Gilles LeVasseur at the University of Ottawa, has stated that the minister only has the power to refer the issue to the Canada Industrial Labour Relations Board, but it is then up to the Board to determine what steps it should take. LeVasseur states that the Board can only order binding arbitration if it is convinced that is the only way to deal with the dispute. A professor of employment law at the University of Manitoba, Bruce Curran, has commented that if the Board tries to order the workers back on the job, the union could seek judicial review of the decision, creating uncertainty and delays.

The stoppage has continued with CPKC, affecting passenger rail in some parts of the country as well as freight.

The Teamsters union has stated it intends to challenge the constitutionality of the minister's referral.

Political response

Three provincial premiers commented on the industrial dispute:

• On August 16, a week before the shutdown, Premier Smith of Alberta was already calling on the federal government to enact back-to-work legislation, in the event of a shutdown.

• On August 22, Premier Ford of Ontario, Canada's largest province, urged the parties to return to the bargaining table and keep the railways operating. In a public statement, Ford stated: "The rail shutdown at CN and CPKC is already costing workers, transit users and businesses across the country, and we cannot afford to let things get worse."

• On August 23, 2024, the day after the federal referral, some trains had resumed service in British Columbia, but not all. Premier Eby of British Columbia stated that a continued shutdown would be devastating to the British Columbia economy, for the ports of Prince Rupert and Vancouver, and then spreading to small businesses. He urged the parties to return to negotiations.

At the federal level, the New Democratic Party has harshly criticised the Liberal government's decision to refer the matter to the Board for arbitration. The Liberal minority government has a confidence-and-supply agreement with the New Democratic Party.

The Conservative party, the Official Opposition, has not commented on the railway issue.

If the Liberal government were to introduce back-to-work legislation, it would need the support of one of the two opposition parties to pass it, since the Liberals only have a minority government.

Impacts

Moody's Ratings estimated that the shutdown could cost the economy up to $341 million per day.

The lockout resulted in the suspension of several commuter rail services operating on CPKC lines. The West Coast Express in Vancouver suspended its entire line. Services on Ontario's GO Transit's Milton line, as well as to Hamilton station on the Lakeshore West line, were suspended. Exo's Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint-Jérôme, and Candiac lines in Montreal suspended operation. Passenger trains operating on Canadian National lines were not affected, as Canadian National dispatchers are not part of the work stoppage.

References

Template:Notable labour disputes in Canada

This article "2024 Canada railway shutdown" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:2024 Canada railway shutdown. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

• National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals
• Edison Zhong
• Kanwar Singh (United States)
• Star Trek: Khan – Ceti Alpha V
• Paul Sikes
• The Anime Machine
• Zion Webb

---