Trudeau Calls on Railway Companies, Union to Reach Deal to Avoid Shutdown

A CN Rail train moves cargo containers at the Centerm Container Terminal at port in Vancouver, on July 14, 2023. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for Canada’s two major railway companies and the union representing their 9,300 employees to come to an agreement, saying a shutdown would harm millions of Canadians.

“This is an issue that we are following extremely closely and moving forward on in every way we can,” Trudeau told reporters in Outaouais, Que., on Aug. 21.

“It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table to find a negotiated resolution. Millions of Canadian workers, farmers, and businesses right across the country are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution.”

The Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) are close to locking out thousands of workers as they continue with labour negotiations. Canada’s first-ever simultaneous work stoppage at its largest rail companies will begin Aug. 22 if a deal is not reached between the companies and the Teamsters Union.

CN has said that while it offered the Teamsters a new agreement in January that improved on wages, safety, and work life balance, the offer was refused. A new offer was made in April with a focus on higher wages and better job security, but it was also rejected, the company said.

According to the Railway Association of Canada, which has called for the federal government to prevent a rail stoppage alongside several other business groups, the two rail companies haul a combined $1 billion in goods per day across the country. More than 32,000 rail commuters in Canada would also be forced to find new routes if there is a lock out or strike.

The Teamsters Union said in an Aug. 20 statement that CN and CPKC have continued to “demonstrate their unwillingness to respect affected TCRC members,” and there had been no “meaningful advancements” toward a resolution.

The union has issued a notice of strike that would see CPKC workers walk off the job as of 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 22

In that Aug. 21 statement, groups like the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada, and Canadian Federation of Independent Business said Ottawa needed to take “immediate action” to keep rail services running. They called for binding arbitration to prohibit a strike and come to a resolution, or to reconvene Parliament to introduce back-to-work legislation.

The federal government has already rejected CN’s request for binding arbitration, instead calling for the parties to come to a decision at the negotiating table.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Aug. 21 that Canadians expect the railway companies and union to reach a deal.

“I want to take the opportunity that your question presents to say to the parties, to say to the companies, to say to the union, we are expecting you to work really, really hard to negotiate in good faith, to negotiate with real energy and intensity, and to get a deal done,” she said.

When asked about Ottawa’s contingency plans for a general strike, Freeland said federal Labour Minister Steve McKinnon has been coordinating with the two sides to help them reach a deal.

“We know that the best deals are reached at the bargaining table, and I am calling with extreme seriousness on the employers, and on the union, to roll up their sleeves to get a deal done,” she said.