Work stoppage at CP Rail raises economic concerns, calls for back-to-work legislation

March 21, 2022

The ongoing work stoppage at the Canadian Pacific Railway is fuelling concerns about the potential economic fallout and its effects on an already-strained supply chain amid high inflation.

CP Rail's Canadian operations shut down on Sunday, after a work stoppage began just before midnight.  Both it and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents about 3,000 unionized locomotive engineers, conductors, train and yard workers, have been negotiating a new contract since September.

Both CP Rail and Teamsters Canada blame each other for the work stoppage, with the former calling it a strike by the union and the latter calling it a lockout by the employer.  With no resolution found, workers hit the picket lines across Western Canada, including Port Coquitlam, B.C., Calgary and Regina.

With recent natural disasters and a war in Ukraine leaving many still worried about the delivery of goods in Canada, some including business and political leaders are calling on the federal government to pass legislation that would force CP Rail's unionized employees back to work.

This is an excerpt from the CTV News article.


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