Transport industry braces for lengthy CN strike

‘This one will be a different animal’

Thousands of Canadian National Railway workers went on strike Tuesday, threatening a crucial artery for exports of oil, grain, chemicals and minerals and leaving some vulnerable Prairie regions potentially without any mode of commercial transportation.

Talks in Montreal were ongoing Tuesday after 3,200 CN conductors, train and yard personnel stopped work at midnight. The company and union have been unable to bridge an impasse on items ranging from pharmaceutical benefits to time-off provisions.

The strike at Canada’s largest railway comes despite a push for a deal by Labour Minister Patty Hajdu and Transport Minister Marc Garneau, who met with union and CN representatives Monday. Union concerns include fatigue, safety and ensuring workers’ breaks aren’t reduced.

Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservatives, and Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage each separately urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter to immediately recall Parliament. Trudeau has said he is not reconvening Parliament until Dec. 5 and the government cannot start the process to force workers back on the job until then.

Neither Via Rail nor commuter trains in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto — which run on CN tracks — are affected.

While grain farmers warned of massive economic damage that could result from a service reduction during peak shipping season, mining industry leaders foresaw layoffs and a threat to Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner.

“This strike will result in a severe reduction or elimination of railway capacity and will trigger the closure of mines with concurrent layoffs of thousands of employees beginning in a matter of days,” Pierre Gratton, chief executive of the Mining Association of Canada, said in a statement.

He urged the government to impose binding arbitration on current and future labour disruptions involving Class 1 railroads.

Past strikes at CN and Canadian Pacific, the country’s second-largest railway, have tended to be brief, ending in a few days or less after back-to-work legislation was threatened or imposed.

But the political calendar in Ottawa could make that solution difficult to implement this time around, said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.

“I am concerned this one will be a different animal because Parliament is not sitting,” said Porter, adding the lack of a recent extended rail strike makes estimating the economic impact difficult.