TRANSCRIPT
(Sound of workers conversing while working)
Joel is a worker with the Canadian National Railway.
He's supposed to be at his job, but instead he's on the picket line.
"CN Rail has locked its employees out, so we're just here for information on the picket line. Let everyone know we're here. We want to go back to work, and we're hoping both the company and our negotiating team can get a deal."
Canada's two main railway companies, CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, have locked out more than 9,000 unionised workers.
Canada's Minister of Labour, Steven MacKinnon, says the two companies and the Teamsters union now blame each other for the work stoppage because a deal could not be reached.
"In the current collective bargaining negotiations between Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, an agreement has so far proven elusive... These collective bargaining negotiations belong to these parties, but their effects, and the impacts of the current impasse are being borne by all Canadians."
The stoppage has caused widespread concern in both Canada and the US.
Many companies in both countries and across all industries rely on railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products, which means without regular rail service they may have to cut back or even close.
The US Department of Transportation says billions of dollars of goods move between Canada and the US via rail every month, as well as inside Canada.
At first the Canadian government was reluctant to use its power to refer the dispute to binding arbitration.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government believed another solution could be found.
"We're on this, we're taking it so seriously. The Minister has engaged directly. We are not taking this lightly obviously because Canadians across the country are worried about it, and we will have more to say shortly on what we are doing to make sure that the right solution is found."
But Minister MacKinnon has now announced he's forcing the two major freight railroads to return to the negotiating table.
"Under section 107 of the Canada Labor Code. I have directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to assist the parties in settling the outstanding terms of their collective agreements by imposing final, binding arbitration. I have also directed the board to extend the term of the current collective agreements until new agreements have been signed, and for operations on both railways to resume forthwith."
That means the trains will run again.
But Dan Kelly, the President and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, worries that there could be ramifications down the line.
"The impact is huge. This affects consumers with packaged goods, drugstore products, baby formula in some communities shipped by rail. It's right throughout the economy. So I really worry that even a couple of weeks of a strike, you have to multiply that by six to eight before the system gets back to normal. A one-week strike could take 6 to 8 weeks before the system is back to normal. Sure, the business owners will do their best to try to make up some of some of the sales that they may be missing. But that only that only helps to a certain degree. I mean, even a few weeks delay, if your seasonal goods missed the season they're associated with, you're done."
