(Quebec) Justin Trudeau must “have the courage to take action” if the impasse persists in the labor dispute between the two largest railway companies in the country and more than 9,000 workers, according to François Legault. A strike or lockout could be triggered as early as tonight.
“The strike at [Canadien National] and to [Canadien Pacifique Kansas City]”, it is very worrying for the economy of Quebec, so I hope that the parties will reach an agreement by tomorrow, but if there is no agreement tomorrow, I ask Justin Trudeau to have the courage to take action. It is too important for the economy of Quebec,” Mr. Legault briefly indicated upon his arrival at the cabinet meeting.
The Prime Minister declined to specify whether he was referring to the imposition of a special law that would force union members back to work.
The union, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, has already said workers will stop working as of 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Thursday if the parties fail to reach a last-minute agreement. CN has issued a notice indicating its intention to lock out workers on the same date unless a settlement or binding arbitration is reached. The CPKC had previously served a lockout notice at the same time.
However, such scenarios would have “devastating” effects for Quebec, several ministers in the Legault government said on Wednesday.
“We want the federal government to put pressure on, to get even more involved in solving this problem,” said Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault. “A rail strike has a huge impact on supply chains, it would really be, I would go so far as to say, dramatic for the economy. It would literally take the economy hostage,” she added in a press scrum.
Mme Guilbault said he was in communication with his federal counterpart, Pablo Rodriguez.
“We must not take the economy hostage, there would be potentially devastating impacts,” said Minister of Labor Jean Boulet. He added that he “trusts” the parties and the mediation process to resolve the conflict.
“It worries me, it has significant impacts on the forestry industry, the mining industry. We want it to be resolved tomorrow and the federal government will decide whether or not it requires a special law, we have no influence on that, but we are in contact with them,” said the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon.
While passing through Papineauville, in Outaouais, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau affirmed that both parties must do everything possible to avoid a work stoppage.
“My message is very clear. It is in the interest of both sides to get the job done, to find a solution at the negotiating table. Millions of Canadians, workers, farmers, businesses are counting on these negotiations to get the Canadian economy moving in the right way,” he said.
He stressed that the Minister of Labour, Steven MacKinnon, has been holding a number of meetings in recent days in order to resolve the impasse and avoid a paralysis of rail transport.
With The Canadian Press, Hugo Pilon Larose, and Joël-Denis Bellavance