Ottawa orders a return to work at the ports of Quebec and Montreal

“There is an end to the economic self-destruction that Canadians are willing to accept,” MacKinnon said at a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.

According to him, the consequences of the ban on the economy are “disproportionate” compared to the promise of these negotiations. Throughout, he says that “the parties show an alarming lack of urgency. “

Lockouts have recently been announced by employers at shipping terminals in British Columbia, including those in Vancouver, as well as the Port of Montreal, Canada’s two largest ports.

The blockade at the Port of Quebec has lasted for more than two years.

Mr. McKinnon said he expected the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to order a return to work within “a few days.”

According to the minister, the decision is not in danger of undermining the right of the parties to use pressure tactics going as far as a strike or lockout.

“It’s a responsible move,” he said. It puts the parties before an arbitrator where they can plead their case. And the Canadian economy will get back on track.”

The Maritime Employers Association locked out the 1,200 dock workers at the Port of Montreal on Sunday night. The workers had just rejected the “final” offer they had been given.

Longshoremen have refused to do overtime since October 10. Also, around 320 of them were on a partial strike, affecting only two terminals of the Termont company.

The situation is similar in British Columbia, where the lockout began last week after management criticized ship and dock managers for striking in response to a final offer from employers.

The lockout is also happening at the port of Quebec, and it has been there for two years, but operations continue, because the employer is using workers instead.

Not surprisingly, the Quebec Employers’ Council says it welcomes the decision with “relief”.

“No labor dispute should have the power to slow down our economy. Every day of a strike or slowdown in this sector is a severe blow to our economy and to workers in other sectors that depend on it,” their spokeswoman, Victoria Drolet, wrote in an email .

The railroad precedent

This is the third labor dispute to affect the country’s supply chains this year, after those affecting rail and air transport.

Last August, the nation’s two major railroads, CN and CPKC, locked out 9,300 Teamster train conductors and locomotive drivers after months of negotiations failed to produce a new collective agreement.

Minister MacKinnon then intervened and ordered the CIRB to put in place a binding arrangement to avoid a complete disruption of the country’s supply chain.

The quasi-judicial body immediately noted that Ottawa was thus setting a precedent, but that this direction was tantamount to an order issued by the minister using his “discretionary powers” under the Canada Labor Code . The Council considered that they had no room to move to refuse the direction in this case.

Union members and workers’ advocates criticized the move, saying it undermined workers’ bargaining power and bargaining rights.

Ottawa, farce dindon?

The minister was questioned on Tuesday whether he is ultimately responsible for the proliferation of this style of labor disputes through his summer decision in the rail sector and whether employers are now using it in anticipation that he will intervene as soon as the negotiations break down.

Mr MacKinnon replied that labor relations at port facilities have always been difficult, so he believes it is “obvious” that the negotiation process at some port facilities should be re-evaluated.

According to him, Ottawa has not become a spy of the joke since “the parties are negotiating”.

“In the case of British Columbia, we are talking about 17 days of mediation and conciliation. In Quebec 75. And in Montreal, 34. There are offers from all sides that are rejected, of course. But there is a compromise. There is no agreement,” he said.

Section 107 of the Canada Labor Code gives the Minister of Labor additional powers to take measures that he “thinks may promote good understanding in the world of work and to creating conditions favorable to the resolution of disagreements or disputes arising there”, and may order the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to “take such steps as they deem necessary”.

Parliament could also force him to return to work through legislation, which would be an exception to the normal way of negotiating labor relations under the Labor Code. However, the House of Commons is not due to resume work until next week, where observers expect the Tories to continue paralyzing it with obstructionist motions.

According to the Montreal Port Authority, almost $400 million in goods pass through the Port of Montreal every day. They generated economic benefits of 268 million.

The Port of Montreal is the main port in Eastern Canada. Its main competitors are the ports of the Eastern United States.