Maritime ports, trucking industry brace for possible rail line work stoppage

Nowhere will a possible nationwide rail line work stoppage be felt more in the Maritimes than at the ports of Saint John, N.B., and Halifax, both heavily reliant on rail service.

Rail serves approximately 60 per cent of containerized cargo business at the Port of Halifax.

In Saint John, it’s in the roughly 60-to-80 per cent range.

Port of Saint John CEO Craig Estabrooks said seeing CN Rail and Canadian Pacific Kansas City lines shut down due to the current labour dispute would be devastating.

“To see both potentially halted tomorrow with the work stoppage would have far-reaching consequences for our port but even more importantly for the entire national supply chain,” said Estabrooks.

The federal government is urging CN and CPKC and the Teamsters union representing close to 10,000 rail workers to reach a deal to avoid a work stoppage that could cost Canada billions of dollars.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it’s in the best interest of both sides to continue working hard to find a negotiated resolution before Thursday morning’s deadline.

“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,” said Trudeau.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters released a joint statement on Wednesday calling on the federal government to intervene and ensure rail service will continue.

“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,” read the statement. “This is not about siding with either party; it is about standing up for Canadians.”

Estabrooks said the labour dispute needs to be resolved quickly so products can reach their terminal and get exported.

“We handle upwards of two million tons of potash [annually]. That is entirely Saskatchewan-based dry bulk potash that’s railed five days with CN Rail across this country and comes to Saint John. That’s not a cargo movement that can be replicated by another means such as a truck,” said Estabrooks.

Chris McKee, executive director of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association, said a possible shut down of both of Canada's class one railways would be “unprecedented” and it'll have a huge impact on the industry.

“For our industry, especially here in Atlantic Canada, volumes are such right now that our industry will be able to absorb some of this capacity,” said McKee. “Our members will have to balance this increase in capacity with their current customer base. We can't just drop everything and pick up the void left by no rail service.”

McKee said even if a possible work stoppage were to last a few days, it could create weeks-long backlogs and delays.

The CN and CPKV rail lines carry more than $1-billion worth of goods each day, according to the Railway Association of Canada.

As of 1:01 a.m. AST Thursday, CN and CPKC will start to lock out their workers if they are unable to reach a deal with them. The Teamsters union has said it’s ready to call a strike.