Canada’s big two railways, under mandatory federal performance targets for grain freight, are now flooding the West Coast and Thunder Bay with grain, the Western Grain Elevator Association warns. Prairie grain elevator companies can handle the 11,000 cars a week the federal government has ordered the railways to move — but some of those cars […] Read more
Grain firms warn railways swamping ports with grain
B.C. introduces back-to-work law for port truckers
Legislation to buy Port Metro Vancouver 90 days of labour peace with its unionized container truckers has gone through first reading in British Columbia’s legislature. Provincial Labour Minister Shirley Bond on Monday introduced Bill 25, the Port Metro Vancouver Container Trucking Services Continuation Act, imposing a 90-day “cooling-off” period for 250 striking container truckers represented […] Read more
CN, conductors agree to talks, possible arbitration
Having voted down two negotiated deals in the past six months, unionized conductors, trainmen and yardmen with Canadian National Railway (CN) have agreed to go to binding arbitration with the company if need be. CN on Saturday said the workers have agreed to a “last chance” offer to enter negotiations for a contract settlement, “on […] Read more
CN conductors again reject tentative labour deal
Canadian National Railway (CN) wants binding arbitration after its unionized conductors and yardmen narrowly voted to reject a second tentative labour agreement. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), representing about 3,000 CN conductors, trainpersons, yardpersons and traffic co-ordinators working in Canada, reported Thursday its members had voted down the deal, reached Feb. 5, by a […] Read more
Vancouver truckers to be ordered back to work
The British Columbia government is set to legislate unionized container truckers serving Port Metro Vancouver back into the cab. The province said Wednesday it would introduce back-to-work legislation as early as Monday (March 24), with a 90-day cooling-off period, for 250 truckers represented by Unifor-Vancouver Container Truckers Association. The work stoppage at the port involves […] Read more
CN CEO sees grain backlog extending into 2015
Toronto | Reuters — A record-shattering Canadian harvest, combined with one of the most frigid winters in decades, has created a grain-handling backlog that will not be cleared until next year, the head of Canadian National Railway (CN) said Wednesday. “It will take more than the summer, continue into fall, into next year,” Claude Mongeau, […] Read more
Heavy ice to keep eastbound grain landlocked for now
Even under federal government pressure to get more Prairie grain moving by rail to Vancouver and Thunder Bay, crops that make it to the latter port aren’t going anywhere this week, shipowners warn. The Canadian Shipowners Association, the Ottawa-based group for Canadian companies with domestically-flagged vessels, warned in a release Tuesday the Great Lakes and […] Read more
Railways report progress on easing grain logjam
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian grain shipments by rail have picked up since earlier this month when Ottawa ordered Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway (CN, CP) to improve service, CN and a grain-handling group said Tuesday. Transportation bottlenecks have left crops landlocked after a record-smashing harvest and frigid winter in Canada, the world’s […] Read more
Truckers’ strike at Vancouver continues
Vancouver | Reuters –– A two-and-a-half week container truck driver strike at Port Metro Vancouver was set to continue Monday after a government and port authority plan to end the job action at Canada’s largest port failed to make headway on the weekend. The 14-point plan, revealed late Thursday by the federal and B.C. governments […] Read more
Governments, Vancouver port propose measures to restart trucking
A package of measures drafted late Thursday by federal, provincial and port officials to end the trucking dispute at Port Metro Vancouver awaits a response from container truckers who’ve been off the job for up to two weeks. A 14-point “action plan” has been collectively agreed upon to restart “normal” marine container operations at Canada’s […] Read more
