Feds should look at legislating CN strikers back to work: premier

As the Canadian National Railway (CN) strike continues to worry Prairie farmers, Premier Scott Moe said the new federal cabinet should give some thought to passing back-to-work legislation.

“That should be under consideration, yes it should,” said Moe on Wednesday. “We cannot have that service not being provided for any great length of time.”

Moe isn’t the first western politician to raise the idea. Alberta government ministers have urged Ottawa to legislate the roughly 3,200 striking conductors, trainspersons and yard workers back to work.

The workers hit the picket line at midnight on Tuesday, three weeks after their union voted 99.2 per cent in favour of strike action following a breakdown in talks.

The railway company moves about half of canola and wheat crops, according to farm groups, who warn that farmers cannot bear delays in the midst of an already difficult harvest season.

Moe noted that producers are already looking to move what looks like the second-largest crop in the history of the province.

Back-to-work legislation would have to go through Parliament, which is not sitting until next month. There’s a more fundamental problem for the idea. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signalled in the past that he might not want to go there.

“Quite frankly, we have companies that have gotten used to the fact that in certain industries, the government in the past was very quick to legislate against unions …” Trudeau told reporters in May 2018. “We are not going to do that.”

The strike file is now on the desk of a brand-new labour minister, after Patty Hajdu got bumped to Health. Ontario MP Filomena Tassi now has the labour file. Moe said he expects quick action despite the flux at the ministry.

“There’s some decisions that are going to have to be made in short order with respect to supporting the export-based economy,” he said.

“Our expectations would be that the new minister will be engaging on that very quickly, engaging with the provinces very quickly.”

The strike has already led to heightened tensions in Saskatchewan. A small group of CN workers picketed at the company’s Chappell Yard on Wednesday in Saskatoon, where one employee suffered minor injuries there after being hit by a pickup truck hours after the strike began.

It was not immediately clear what precipitated the incident. A spokesman for the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said the employee is contemplating going to the police after ending up on the hood of the truck.

“It’s unacceptable that our members are being hit by pickup trucks on the picket line,” said spokesman Christopher Monette.

Asked about provincial politicians calling for Ottawa to intervene over the labour dispute, Monette said “everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” before emphasizing that CN workers are striking over unresolved safety issues.

Nine union members, including three members of the striking CN bargaining unit, have died in railway accidents over the past 24 months, and issues such as rest periods for workers need to be resolved, Monette said.