Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Labour minister intervenes in bid to avert CP Rail strike

- JOSH WINGROVE

OTTAWA — Federal Labour Minister Kellie Leitch stepped in and held lastminute talks to help avoid a looming strike at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.

Leitch flew Friday to Montreal, where talks are being held, to press for a quick resolution between the Calgarybas­ed railway and two unions whose members could strike as soon as Sunday.

“She is personally intervenin­g to encourage all parties to work together to quickly reach agreements in the best interest of the Canadian economy and Canadians, and to avoid a costly and damaging work- stoppage,” her communicat­ions director, Andrew McGrath, said.

CP is facing strikes by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and Unifor Local 101R, that, according to their websites, represent about 5,000 of the railway’s workers. Both can walk out as early as 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

Leitch’s government was criticized by one of the unions poised to strike. In a statement Friday, Unifor said one of the issues in contract talks is safety concerns spurred by what it calls a lack of federal inspectors and officials.

“More and more dangerous products” are being shipped by rail in Canada, the union said.

“Our federal government is failing to protect the public, so in this round of negotiatio­ns, we’re going to deal with the issue at the bargaining table,” Unifor national president Jerry Dias said in the statement.

Unifor spokeswoma­n Shannon Devine confirmed the union was meeting with Leitch, saying the minister had scheduled a “series of meetings” with the railway and both unions.

Teamsters’ spokesman Stephane Lacroix said the two sides are “still negotiatin­g,” and a tentative agreement is possible.

 ??  ?? Kellie Leitch
Kellie Leitch

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