BC port blockade: Minister slams ‘lack of urgency’

Federal Labor Minister Stephen MacKinnon says there is a “lack of urgency” in resolving port disputes in British Columbia and Montreal and the parties need to reach an agreement quickly.

MacKinnon wrote in a social media post that both sets of negotiations were “not moving at sufficient speed.”

A British Columbia port lockout related to a dispute between employers and foremen entered its fourth day, while dock workers at the Port of Montreal have been on strike since Thursday.

MacKinnon says he is following both sets of negotiations closely.

Canadian retailers say their frustration is growing over a lack of traffic due to disruptions at Canada’s two largest ports.

Matt Poirier of the Retail Council of Canada says there “appears to be no urgency” to resolve the disputes in British Columbia and Quebec, and that could lead to empty shelves as the holiday season approaches.

Poirier describes the situation as a “triple threat” of workplace disruptions, citing uncertainty at Canada Post, an ongoing union lockout at ports in British Columbia, including Vancouver, and a strike that has indefinitely closed two container terminals in Montreal .

Poirier says retailers could face a “staggering” impact during the holiday season, “when every delivery counts,” as four days of disruption at ports could potentially equate to about a month of delays due to fluctuations in the supply chain.

In British Columbia, a Maritime Employers Association of British Columbia lockout at container ports across the province is causing silence from employers and the union representing about 700 foremen.

Employers say no negotiations have taken place or are planned with either the mediators or the union, a situation described as unusual by labor expert Mark Thompson, a former professor at the University of British Columbia.

He said employers appear to be “playing hardball” by making what they call a final offer to the union, but the federal government is hesitant to intervene beyond mediation because the right to strike is protected under the Canadian Constitution.

“I think we’re in a bit of a dance,” Thompson said. “Someone is waiting for the other side to say chicken, but that hasn’t happened yet.”

Local 514 of the International Trucking and Warehouse Union said there are no updates on the situation and pickets continue at terminals across B.C.

Dispute over issues such as the impact of port automation on unionized workers has raged since last year, when a previous agreement between employers and the union expired in March 2023.

It comes on the heels of a separate dispute last year between employers and cargo workers that led to a strike that shut down B.C.’s ports for 13 days.

The Port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest, also faced disruptions to rail services in August and grain terminal workers in September.

Meanwhile, Vancouver Port Authority President and CEO Fraser Peter Xotta was scheduled to speak at a pre-scheduled event on the state of the port at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

The Port of Montreal strike involved up to 320 workers and paralyzed 40 percent of the port’s total container handling capacity.

Representatives of the union, which is affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said they were prepared to call off the strike if an agreement was reached on the scheduling portion of the dispute.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.