Quebec asks Ottawa to intervene on possible rail strike

Although there are hopes that the labour dispute in the rail sector will be settled by Thursday, several Quebec ministers are putting pressure on Ottawa to intervene if a strike or lockout is called.

"I hope that the parties reach an agreement by tomorrow, but if there is no agreement by tomorrow, I am asking Justin Trudeau to have the courage to take action. This is too important for Quebec's economy,"' said Premier François Legault as he arrived at the National Assembly on Wednesday.

More than 9,000 workers at the country's two largest railways, Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), could go on strike Wednesday night at midnight if no agreement is reached.

CPKC workers have filed a strike notice that would see them walk off the job at 00:01 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday. CN, for its part, intends to lock out its employees at the same time unless an agreement or binding arbitration is reached by then.

"Potentially devastating" impacts

The companies' trains carry a combined $1 billion worth of goods every day, according to the Railway Association of Canada.

This situation has prompted Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet to say that the strike could have a "potentially devastating impact" on "the supply of goods and merchandise" in Quebec.

"Above all, we must not hold the economy hostage," he said while assuring the province that he had confidence in the mediation process being carried out by the two parties concerned.

"The whole supply chain could be jeopardized... So it's certain that the parties have to come to an agreement, and if they don't, we need a federal government that will be agile enough to act quickly," said André Lamontagne, Quebec's minister of agriculture, fisheries and food.

Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault said she was in contact with her federal counterpart, Pablo Rodriguez.

"We want the two parties to reach an agreement, but if that doesn't happen - because we're getting close to the strike deadline - we want the federal government to step up the pressure and invest even more in resolving this problem," she said.

"It's having a major impact. I think this has to be resolved by Thursday. I think the federal government will get involved. We've had indirect discussions," said Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 21, 2024.