Shippers are calling on Ottawa to better protect supply chains from labour disruptions after a string of work stoppages over the past 15 months.
In an open letter to the federal government Friday, executives from 10 industry groups demanded that political leaders take action to ease the threat of strikes at key transport hubs and arteries.
The organizations, which range from the Chamber of Marine Commerce to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, say recent job action has hurt employers, the economy and the country’s reputation as a reliable trading partner.
“Our supply chains have been severely tested in recent years, and it’s becoming inconceivable for a country like Canada to see its economy weakened with every collective agreement negotiation,” said Karl Blackburn, president of the Quebec Council of Employers, in an interview.
He and other signatories have asked the government to consider how to balance workers’ rights against maintaining critical transport services, though the letter offers no policy proposals.
“We’re loath to give any prescriptive suggestions about where they should go,” said Jason Card, a spokesman for the Chamber of Marine Commerce.
He highlighted the federal government’s two main levers for dispute resolution: back-to-work legislation and directives from the labour minister for the country’s labour tribunal to impose binding arbitration.
Some experts say both options risk undermining workers’ collective bargaining rights. On the other hand, Card said the mechanisms amount to “discretionary measures that politicize supply chains” and offer little predictability.
“You’re pitting the interests of labour against the interests of consumers and businesses and often our own quality of life,” he said.
Canada’s maritime supply chain has faced several labour disruptions over the past four years, on top of the backlogs and bottlenecks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two main railways shut down operations for several days in August amid a lockout prompted by strike threats, halting freight and commuter traffic across the country.
Last October, an eight-day strike by employees on the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway stopped shipments of grain, iron ore and gasoline along the trade corridor.
A strike by 7,400 B.C. dockworkers dragged on for 13 days in July 2023, shutting down the country’s biggest port and costing the economy billions of dollars.
And in Montreal, longshore workers went on strike for five days in April 2021 and in August 2020 in a 12-day job action that left 11,500 containers languishing on the waterfront.
