Labour minister seeks review of rail strike safety
Job action by 9,300 workers could cause crippling disruption of supply chains
The federal government has asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to review whether a strike by rail workers would jeopardize Canadians' health and safety, adding a new element of uncertainty in the lead-up to potential job action.
Prompted by concerns from industry groups, the request to the tribunal by Labour Minister Seamus O'regan could delay a potential work stoppage that could otherwise start in less than two weeks.
The board is set to examine what, if any, critical shipments must continue in the event of a strike or lockout, with a would-be work stoppage on pause until a decision on that issue is made.
“Serious concerns have been raised about potential impacts to the health and safety of Canadians. It's our duty to look into this,” O'regan said in a social media post.
Last week, employees at the country's two main railways authorized a strike mandate that could see 9,300 workers walk off the job as soon as May 22.
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents conductors, engineers and yard workers at Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd., has warned that a strike at both companies simultaneously would disrupt supply chains on an unprecedented scale.
Industry groups have sounded similar alarm bells.
The Freight Management Association of Canada said a stoppage would see shipments of critical commodities such as chlorine for water and gasoline for cities grind to a halt, potentially jeopardizing residents' safety.
“With the two national railways out, major Canadian ports like Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax and Saint John, N.B., will be clogged with containers, unable to function. Canadian exports like lumber, potash, coal and iron ore will have nowhere to go. Plants and mines will close and workers will be laid off,” association president
John Corey said in an email.
The labour minister referred the issue to the industrial relations board after receiving a letter from the Canadian Propane Association, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. The Canadian Press isn't naming the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The tribunal has broad authority over essential services in the event of a potential strike, said Maya Fernandez, an associate with Nelligan Law in Ottawa who specializes in labour and employment law.
Employment and Social Development Canada states on its website that the minister “can ask the CIRB to intervene to decide what activities need to continue during a strike or lockout, even if the parties have a maintenance of activities agreement.”
The parties are “banned from beginning a strike or lockout” until a decision comes down, the government states.
Serious concerns have been raised about potential impacts to the health and safety of Canadians.
It's our duty to look into this.