For prairie farmers like Bill Prybylski, the strike at ports in B.C. is frustrating.
While the strike, which entered its fourth day Tuesday, is not expected to affect bulk shipments of grains—like loading up a freighter with wheat—it will still affect a variety of other agricultural products, such as specialty crops like mustard and peas being sent overseas in shipping containers.
“Any delays in shipping means delays in getting paid for what the producers are growing and selling. So any lengthy strike is just going to be that much more of a financial hardship,” Prybylski, who is a vice president with the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, told The Epoch Times.
He added the lack of control is also frustrating.
“There’s been a significant amount of supply chain issues in the past few years for various reasons,” he said. “It just seems like there’s one thing after another—just when things start looking like they are going to be getting better, there’s something else that gets thrown into the mix … we have no control over it, but we suffer the effects of it.”
Prybylski is not alone.
The strike by some 7,400 port workers in B.C. shows little sign of ending quickly.
And that’s raising concern for business groups across the country, because West Coast ports, especially Vancouver and Prince Rupert, are a big part of the country’s economic lifeblood.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce estimates about $800 million in goods goes through West Coast ports every day—shipments that are vital to businesses big and small in much of the country.
The Chamber is bluntly calling for Ottawa to intervene.
What’s at stake is the loading and unloading of a host of goods, from home goods and electronics to clothing, lumber, automobiles, and some agri-foods.
With workers on strike, goods are waiting to be unloaded from ships, or piling up on the docks waiting to be shipped out.
The lumber industry is one example. Lumber producers across western Canada ship lumber to customers overseas through B.C. ports. Now they are starting to look at other options—options that could cost them time and money, in an industry that supports thousands of jobs.
“Transport companies will be working with their customers to make alternate arrangements where possible to move products to other ports if necessary,” Liz Kovach, president of the Western Retail Lumber Association, said in a statement sent to The Epoch Times. “It’s a little early to tell what exactly it will be,” she added.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said getting shipments of goods on time is crucial for the survival of many businesses.
Politicians are also keeping an eye on the situation.
Approximately 30 ports in total on the West Coast are being affected by the strike.
For the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, key issues include cost of living, automation, and the contracting out of work. The union remains at odds with the employer, the BC Maritime Employers Association.
“We encourage both parties to immediately return to the bargaining table and remain there until a deal is reached. Collective bargaining is hard work but it’s how the best, most resilient deals are made,” O’Regan said in the tweet.
