Growing concern ahead of a possible strike or lockout involving Canada’s two main railways.
CN Rail and CPKC said they will lock out workers next Thursday if a deal is not reached.
The lockout would involve more than 9,000 engineers, conductors and yard workers.
Ron Marcolin, divisional vice-president of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), said they are extremely concerned.
“It comes at a very, very tenuous time in Canada,” Marcolin told our newsroom in an interview.
“We’re still getting over COVID, we have obviously a lot of pressures economically, and we can’t be seen as a country that’s closed for business.”
A lot of products are shipped by rail through CN Rail and CPKC, and Marcolin said any job action would be “immediate and consequential” to the supply chain.
Because of high costs, inventories in manufacturing facilities are generally kept at a low volume, he said.
“We have a just-in-time system whereby raw materials come in just in time and as soon as they are manufactured, they are outbound to the customer,” said Marcolin.
“We have low inventories by design, are dependent on the railway to get them in and out, and that’s a struggle if you have a strike or a lockout.”
The threat of a work stoppage is already impacting fertilizer shipments across the country.
Fertilizer Canada said CN Rail and CPKC issued embargoes earlier this week immediately halting certain shipments ahead of the anticipated labour disruption.
The group said job action would have potentially disastrous effects on crop yields and food security.
Meanwhile, Fertilizer Canada and CME are calling on the federal government to intervene.
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