Just hours ahead of an unprecedented railway stoppage in Canada, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon says issues between the parties involved "remained significant."
"The parties are still at the table, and we are making sure that they are focused on trying to get a deal," MacKinnon said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Wednesday.
As of 12:01 a.m. EDT Thursday, the Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) will start to lockout their workers if they are unable to reach a deal with the Teamsters union, while the union says it is ready to call a strike. This would be the first time Canada's two main railways could have a simultaneous work stoppage.
According to the Railway Association of Canada, affected rails carry more than $1 billion worth of goods each day. More than 32,000 rail commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will also be impacted if there is a railway stoppage because transit authorities have select commuter lines that run on CPKC tracks.
MacKinnon was in Calgary on Wednesday to meet with CN, CPKC and Teamsters in a bid to push all parties to get a deal done and avoid a massive shutdown.
"The consequences to the country are significant from an economic perspective, and what I wanted to do today was make sure that the voice of those people was heard loud and clear at this negotiating table," MacKinnon said.
In a new statement on Wednesday, CN said "the Minister of Labour must intervene" and stressed the company has "tried to get a deal but a deal is not possible without a willing partner."
When asked several times whether the federal government would intervene, MacKinnon said he did not want to get into speculation.
"We believe in collective bargaining. We think the most enduring results come from negotiated agreements," MacKinnon told CTV News.
Last week, MacKinnon rejected a request from CN to impose binding arbitration.
Businesses, agriculture sectors urge federal government intervention
There is growing pressure from the business and agricultural sectors who are calling on the federal government to get more directly involved. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada, Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters released a joint statement on Wednesday urging Ottawa to step in.
"With a full shutdown of Canada's rail network less than 24 hours away we call on the federal government to take immediate action to ensure the continuation of rail services," the statement reads. "The Government of Canada has a responsibility to protect the Canadian public and maintain national security, and it is time to act decisively to fulfill that obligation."
The coalition wants Ottawa to use Article 107 of the federal labour code that would refer the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for binding arbitration and could prohibit a strike, a lockout or any ongoing stoppage pending a resolution.
Back-to-work legislation is another option, but that would require the federal government to bring back Parliament.
In an interview with CTV News chief political correspondent Vassy Kapelos on Wednesday, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said he does not support federal intervention at this time, but he did not rule out that possibility in the future.
"We will look at the way things happen and the impact of such lockout or strike and see if some hard decisions have to be made," Blanchet told Kapelos. "But we have always been in favour of the rights for workers to negotiate freely with a certain leverage."
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has signalled a different stance, saying the federal government should not intervene through either binding arbitration or back-to-work legislation.
"We oppose those vehemently. The government should not be tipping the scales in favour of the big bosses," Singh told reporters on Monday. "Signalling any sort of intervention favours the big bosses in this case, the employers in this case. That's wrong."
CTV News has reached out to the Conservative party for a statement on the issue, but has not received a response.
PM, Freeland push parties to reach deal
On Wednesday, both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland urgently called upon CN, CPKC and the union to strike a deal before the deadline expires early Thursday morning. Like MacKinnon, neither would directly answer questions on whether the federal government will get involved.
"My message is very straightforward. It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table to find a negotiated resolution," Trudeau said Wednesday. "Millions of Canadians, of workers, of farmers, of businesses right across the country are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution."
Freeland, meanwhile, stressed the major economic impact the stoppage could have.
"I want them to recognize the country has no patience with dilly dallying right now. They can achieve a deal, they need to get a deal done, they need to take their responsibility seriously," Freeland told reporters on Wednesday.
When asked how patient Ottawa can be due to the potential economic consequences, Freeland would not specifically say.
"Our plan is for the parties to listen to Canadians, listen to their neighbours, listen to their friends, to recognize that it is totally unacceptable for us as a country to sabotage ourselves right now," Freeland said.
What are railways and the union fighting over?
Labour agreements for both railway companies expired at the end of 2023.
The union claims CPKC wants to "gut the collective agreement of all safety-critical fatigue provisions."
In response, CPKC says it will focus on a "status quo-style offer" that "does not in any way compromise safety."
Meanwhile, Teamsters says CN is demanding that workdays be extended in western provinces, which they say will create "a fatigue-related safety risk." They also say CN is attempting to impose a forced relocation policy.
CN says it has put four offers on the table since the start of the year, claiming "none of CN's offers compromised safety in any way." CN told CTV News on Monday that the union made one counter-proposal this past weekend.
