Railways prepare to restart after federal government forces binding arbitration in labour dispute

Canada's Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is intervening to end a work stoppage that saw this country's two largest railways grind to a standstill Thursday, by forcing the parties into binding arbitration.

Canada's Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is intervening to end a work stoppage that saw this country's two largest railways grind to a standstill Thursday, by forcing the parties into binding arbitration.

Announcing the major move from Parliament Hill, MacKinnon said he is invoking powers under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to "assist the parties in settling the outstanding terms of their collective agreements by imposing final binding arbitration."

MacKinnon has also ordered the board to extend the term on the parties' current collective agreements until new deals are signed, and is calling for operations on both railways to resume "forthwith."

"Canadians must be assured that their government will not allow them to suffer when parties do not fill their responsibility to them at the bargaining table, especially where worker and community safety is at stake," he said, following a day of key meetings with stakeholders.

In a first-ever simultaneous work stoppage, Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked out Teamsters Canada rail workers early Thursday morning after months of failed negotiations, where safety issues, wages and what the union called a "forced relocation scheme" for workers were top issues in the talks.

The unprecedented labour dispute snarled supply chains and complicated commutes for thousands across Canada.

Contract talks continued as picket lines went up, demonstrators marched in front of the rail companies' headquarters in Montreal and Calgary, and thousands of railcars carrying a range of goods sat parked.