Rail lockout 'irresponsible,' Manitoba premier says, as expert suggests Ottawa needs to step in
CBC
The federal government needs to step in quickly to mitigate the economic impact Canada's railway disruption is going to have on Manitoba and the rest of the country, says an expert in supply chain management.
"There's an old statement that hope is not a strategy, and it seemed to be like that's what the government was expressing yesterday — hoping they'll get the resolution. And it didn't happen," said Barry Prentice, professor of supply chain management at the University of Manitoba.
"I guess you could say the adults have to come in now and sort this out, if the two parties aren't going to come to a resolution. And they better work on it pretty quick."
For the first time in Canada's history, freight traffic on both of the country's largest railways has ground to a halt.
After months of bitter negotiations, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers after the parties failed to agree on a new contract before a midnight deadline.
The two companies move roughly $1 billion worth of goods per day, the Railway Association of Canada says.
The biggest impact in Manitoba will be felt in the south, Prentice told CBC Manitoba Information Radio host Marcy Markusa on Thursday.
"About one-quarter of all their freight is grain and fertilizer, so those two are going to be affected quite substantially," he said.
Intermodal containers make up about another quarter or so of what moves, he said. Rail intermodal refers to shipping containers moved on rail flatbeds, then shifted to semi-trailer trucks to be transported on roads.
Those containers carry various goods, including retail products and industrial items.
"So there's a big impact on those two right away," Prentice said, referring to the container and agriculture supplies.
As for the northern Manitoba rail lines, they're more immune to what is happening across the south, Prentice said.
"The Hudson Bay Railway is not going to be on strike, and they do depend on things going up to Churchill, but it's a pretty small part of the total scheme of things," he said.
The average person is also unlikely to feel any immediate shock, though supply-chain issues could be felt in a short time, Prentice said.
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