Canada orders ports to restart, cites economic damage

Canada’s government directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the resumption of all operations and functions at the ports, to stop an economic disruption in the country.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said he had directed the country’s industrial relations board to order the resumption of all operations and to assist the parties by imposing final and binding arbitration.

He justified his decision by saying the negotiations had reached a “total impasse” and there was “no perspective, no possibility realistically” of agreements being reached between the parties.

The Minister announced that he has invoked his authority under the Canada Labour Code and forced the matter to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, requesting it to order the parties to go back to work and to resume operations.

“Negotiated agreements are the best way forward, but we must not allow other Canadians to suffer when certain parties do not fulfill their responsibility to reach an agreement,” MacKinnon said in a news release in the social media X. “It is my duty and responsibility to act in the interests of businesses, workers, farmers, families and all Canadians.”

“The work stoppages at the Ports of British Columbia and the Port of Montreal are significantly impacting our supply chains, thousands of Canadian jobs, our economy and our reputation as a reliable trading partner,” MacKinnon told reporters on Tuesday.

Canadian Minister of Labour and Seniors MacKinnon have also directed the board to extend the term of the existing collective agreements until new ones are reached.

The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) welcomed MacKinnon’s decision to intervene by asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to order binding arbitration to resolve the “total impasse” in the dispute with Longshoremen’s Union CUPE 375.

The MEA now awaits instructions from the CIRB on next steps.

At a press briefing on Tuesday morning, the Minister noted that despite a lengthy negotiation process and the intervention of specialists from his department’s Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, negotiations had reached an impasse.

The MEA says that it will take the necessary steps to ensure that activities resume as quickly as possible at the Port of Montréal.