Trudeau says feds 'on it' as Canada's biggest railways grind to a halt, vows more to say 'shortly'
CTV
Canada's two biggest railways have ground to an unprecedented halt, and as pressure mounts for federal intervention, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will have more to say 'shortly' on what it is doing 'to make sure that the right solution is found quickly for the economy.'
Canada's two biggest railways have ground to an unprecedented halt, and as pressure mounts for federal intervention, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will have more to say "shortly" on what it is doing "to make sure that the right solution is found quickly for the economy."
"We're taking it so seriously. The minister is engaged directly. We are not taking this lightly, obviously, because Canadians across the country are worried about it," Trudeau said Thursday in Sherbrooke, Que. in front of a manufacturer that will be impacted if the shutdown continues much longer.
"That's something that is an impact right across the country, from workers, to businesses, to farmers, to consumers, who are going to be impacted. That's why we are on this," Trudeau said.
Unable to reach a deal, the Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked out their workers early Thursday morning in a first-ever simultaneous work stoppage. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference has issued a strike notice at CPKC but not at CN.
In a statement Thursday morning, CN said that "without an agreement or binding arbitration, CN has no choice but to finalize a safe and orderly shutdown and proceed with a lockout."
The union, meanwhile, said that after months of "good-faith negotiations," safety-related issues remain its focus.
"Neither CN nor CPKC has relented on their push to weaken protections around rest periods and scheduling, increasing the risk of fatigue-related safety issues," Teamsters Canada's statement reads.
