Yesterday, Canada’s Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon invoked section 107 of the Canada Labour Code and requested binding arbitration to resolve a labour dispute between Canadian National Railway (CN), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), and the union representing over 9,000 workers that saw rail service grind to a halt across Canada at 00:01 EST on August 22nd. The request of the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) resulted in a meeting of parties last night which evidently did not go well, as TCRC is now preparing for a constitutional challenge on the Minister’s directive and a 72-hour strike notice has now been served to CN. Unfortunately, the uncertainty on the resumption of rail service continues while we wait for a decision from the CIRB.
