The Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railroads locked out the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference on 22 August, bringing Canada’s rail freight network to a halt. On 23 August Canada’s Minister of Transport directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to order the Teamsters back to work and impose a final binding arbitration process to resolve outstanding issues and agree new collective contracts.

The Teamsters questioned whether that order was constitutional and urged the CIRB not to order the union back to work and impose binding arbitration. The Teamsters also issued CN with a new strike notice.

Over the weekend the CIRB held a hearing on the issues of whether it had any authority to review the Ministers discretion, and whether the CIRB itself has any discretion in how to follow the Minister’s directive.

The CIRB subsequently determined that it has no authority to review the Minister’s order or assess its validity. “In the Board’s view, the Federal Court has the exclusive jurisdiction to review the Minister’s directions…” the CIRB said.

The rail strike has quickly become a major economic and political issue in Canada, and there is pressure on the Federal Government and the CIRB to push for a resolution as quickly as possible. The CIRB took the step of issuing a rapid “bottom line decision” over the weekend without providing a full judgement at this point.

CN issued a brief statement saying it will comply with the order and end its lockout. CPKC did the same, and asked Teamsters to return to work for the day shift on Sunday 25 August to begin its “restart plan” for the rail network. This will involve a “balanced return to normal operations”.

“The CIRB order ends months of unnecessary uncertainty and disruption for the Canadian economy and North American supply chains. We anticipate it will take several weeks for the railway network to fully recover from this work stoppage and a period of time beyond that for supply chains to stabilise,” CPKC said in a statement.

The Teamsters said they will “lawfully comply” with the CIRB’s ruling but will it appeal to the legality of the Minister’s directive at the federal court.

“This decision by the CIRB sets a dangerous precedent. It signals to Corporate Canada that large companies need only stop their operations for a few hours, inflict short-term economic pain, and the federal government will step in to break a union. The rights of Canadian workers have been significantly diminished today,” said Paul Boucher, President of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.

The Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railroads locked out the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference on 22 August, bringing Canada’s rail freight network to a halt. On 23 August Canada’s Minister of Transport directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to order the Teamsters back to work and impose a final binding arbitration process to resolve outstanding issues and agree new collective contracts.

The Teamsters questioned whether that order was constitutional and urged the CIRB not to order the union back to work and impose binding arbitration. The Teamsters also issued CN with a new strike notice.

Over the weekend the CIRB held a hearing on the issues of whether it had any authority to review the Ministers discretion, and whether the CIRB itself has any discretion in how to follow the Minister’s directive.

The CIRB subsequently determined that it has no authority to review the Minister’s order or assess its validity. “In the Board’s view, the Federal Court has the exclusive jurisdiction to review the Minister’s directions…” the CIRB said.

The rail strike has quickly become a major economic and political issue in Canada, and there is pressure on the Federal Government and the CIRB to push for a resolution as quickly as possible. The CIRB took the step of issuing a rapid “bottom line decision” over the weekend without providing a full judgement at this point.

CN issued a brief statement saying it will comply with the order and end its lockout. CPKC did the same, and asked Teamsters to return to work for the day shift on Sunday 25 August to begin its “restart plan” for the rail network. This will involve a “balanced return to normal operations”.

“The CIRB order ends months of unnecessary uncertainty and disruption for the Canadian economy and North American supply chains. We anticipate it will take several weeks for the railway network to fully recover from this work stoppage and a period of time beyond that for supply chains to stabilise,” CPKC said in a statement.

The Teamsters said they will “lawfully comply” with the CIRB’s ruling but will it appeal to the legality of the Minister’s directive at the federal court.

“This decision by the CIRB sets a dangerous precedent. It signals to Corporate Canada that large companies need only stop their operations for a few hours, inflict short-term economic pain, and the federal government will step in to break a union. The rights of Canadian workers have been significantly diminished today,” said Paul Boucher, President of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.