REGINA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called on the federal government to be prepared in the face of a potential work action from the Canadian Pacific Railway, as a result of labour disputes.
Premier Moe spoke on the potential strike during his address to the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities annual convention on March 16.
He issued a call to the federal government to make efforts to avoid the looming disruption of goods for both producers and consumers across the provinces, including Saskatchewan.
“The supply chain is already stressed and experiencing performance issues because of compounding pressures like the pandemic, severe weather disruptions, and labour shortages,” said Moe.
“Even a minor labour disruption will result in lost contracts, shutdowns, lost revenues and reduced taxation revenues to the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan.”
Following the premier’s address, a petition was circulated in the room for present SARM members to sign, asking that the rail system should also be declared an essential service by the federal government.
Under provincial legislation, certain services in Saskatchewan are considered essential and cannot be subject to complete work stoppages due to union action — including health care, Crown services and highway maintenance.
“I would put forward that so is the rail service vitally essential to our communities,” said Moe. “But it's not provincially regulated and it's not an essential service. It’s federally regulated.”
The premier also called on the federal government to “prepare back-to-work legislation that may be needed,” should a CP work action occur.
Moe said he and SARM president Ray Orb would ensure delivery of the petition signatures to federal officials.
“This is probably the worst time ever for a rail company, a major rail carrier in this country, to go on strike,” said Orb. “The implications are just terrible.”
Several organizations in Saskatchewan have expressed concern over the potential impacts of a railway strike, including grain elevator companies, producers and consumers.
At the time of publication, a notice of work action has not yet been issued to members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, despite a March 4 vote that saw 96.7 per cent of members in support of a strike.
TCRC said earlier in the week that the union is willing to negotiate with CP Rail at the bargaining table, to reach a tentative agreement for a member vote. Issues on the table include wages, benefits and pensions, said the union.
The deadline for declaring a legal strike is after midnight on March 16, which could see a work stoppage affecting more than 3,000 rail workers at CP Rail.
