The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is currently addressing a critical issue concerning the potential rail strike affecting Canada’s Class I railways. The ramifications of such a strike could have severe impacts on Canadian agriculture and agri-food sectors, extending beyond just the grains industry.
To address this, CFA has communicated their position to key stakeholders, including the Prime Minister, Ministers of Labour and Transport, railway organizations, and labor unions. We are advocating for immediate intervention by the Minister to prevent this disruption and urging the consideration of section 107 of the Canada Labour Code. This section would enable the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to facilitate a binding arbitration to resolve the dispute.
Below is the letter sent to the ministers.
On behalf of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) we urge you to immediately intervene and do everything necessary to end the labour disruption in Canada’s Class I railways. More specifically, we are urging the Minister to consider using section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to help parties reach an agreement under binding arbitration.
The CFA is Canada’s largest general farm organization, representing approximately 190,000 farm families from coast to coast to coast. CFA’s mission is to promote the interests of Canadian agriculture and agri-food producers and ensure the continued development of a viable and vibrant agriculture and agri-food industry in Canada.
Canadian agriculture and agri-food generated $150 billion of Canada's gross domestic product in 2023 (approximately 7%) and contributes significantly to the well-being of Canadians in both
rural and urban Canada. A modern, efficient, and reliable transportation system is of vital importance to the success of Canadian agriculture and the Canadian economy. This includes Canada’s railways, which are federally regulated, and critical to the financial health of agricultural producers across the country.
Canadian farmers proudly produce quality agriculture and agri-food products, of which over $99 billion dollars’ worth were exported to trade partners around the world in 2023. Thousands of farmers and ranchers across Canada are heavily reliant on exports, while thousands more rely on rail service to get access to critical inputs for essential farm practices. The flow of these goods is essential to Canadian agriculture and the standard of living of all Canadians.
However, if these products are unable to reach overseas customers due to a prolonged labour disruption, this has a direct impact on Canadian farmers, the Canadian economy, and our reliability as an exporting nation.
For example, the Final Report of the National Supply Chain Task Force, noted that “labour disputes and strikes significantly impact Canada’s supply chains, including the ability to remain competitive and reliable. The simple threat of a dispute or strike causes uncertainty over the
reliability of Canadian services and ultimately benefits a competitor that receives traffic originally intended for Canada, reducing our competitive advantage.” The Report goes on to state that “rotating strikes at the Port of Montreal in 2020 led to 21 container ships diverting elsewhere, which cost businesses an estimated $600 million in lost sales.”1
This is consistent with our own analysis of the impacts of prolonged labour disruptions, which not only have an impact on the Canadian economy, but also a direct impact on Canadian shippers and producers by pushing grain sales outside peak price periods, resulting in a loss of customers and sales to other jurisdictions, resulting in vessel demurrage bills, contract extension penalties, contract default penalties, additional trucking costs, etc. Furthermore, Canada’s Grain Monitoring Program estimates that for every day a major strike goes on, it takes a week to recover, a number which grows exponentially as labour disruptions drag on.
The simultaneous labour dispute between CN and CPKC and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) union will have a devastating impact on the transportation of goods into this fall harvest. In addition to the shipment of agricultural products to market, farmers in many parts of Canada require a steady and stable supply of propane for grain drying, greenhouse production and heating and cooling of livestock barns. In fact, the railways have already stopped shipments of “hazardous items” including fertilizers, ahead of potential work stoppage, and at a time when shipments were being ramped up for next spring. The inability to access these products at critical stages of production could result in food loss due to spoilage, acute
animal welfare concerns due to a backlog of livestock slaughterhouse capacity, and the inability to maintain business continuity due to a lack of essential inputs.
The pending disruption of Canada's two national rail carriers, CN and CPKC, poses a significant risk to our industries and the broader Canadian economy and even our natural environment. Not only does a prolonged work stoppage threaten our international reputation, but places upward pressure on inflation and the cost of consumer goods thereby threatening our national food security. For this reason, we are urging the Minister to consider using section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to direct the CIRB to help parties reach an agreement under binding arbitration.
The agriculture sector has now faced several labour disruptions in the past few years, including eight work stoppages over the past six years alone. This cannot continue. Moving forward we strongly urge the Government of Canada to look at options to reduce the risk of future labour disruptions, which are destabilizing for the Canadian economy, the Canadian public and Canadian farmers.
In conclusion, we hope that our views are carefully considered in this matter. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues further.
Sincerely
Keith Currie
President, Canadian Federation of Agriculture
21 Florence Street | Ottawa, ON | K2P 0W6
Phone: 613-236-3633 | Fax: 613-236-5749