As a massive labour stoppage looms for Canada’s two main railway companies, Hamilton’s port authority warns there will be disruptions in the shipping of food, gasoline and asphalt, among other commodities that are moved out of the city by train.
Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) are both in tense labour negotiations that could see thousands of workers locked out beginning Thursday morning.
More than 8,500 train cars move goods in and out of the port in Hamilton each year, says Larissa Fenn, vice president of corporate affairs for the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority.
“These supply chains are vital to products Canadians use every day, and it won’t take long before consumers start to feel it in terms of price and availability of goods,” Fenn said in an email.
The most common commodities transported to and from Hamilton ports by rail — and impacted by a work stoppage — according to Fenn include:
- Foods like oils, additives and sweeteners “critical” for food processor supply chains in Ontario.
- Gasoline for local gas stations.
- Liquid asphalt for roadwork and infrastructure projects in the region.
About 27 per cent of all goods shipped across Ontario and Quebec ports are also moved by railways, Fenn said.
“A prolonged railway strike would impact Canada’s brand as an exporting nation,” she said.
Greg Dunnett, president and CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, told CBC Hamilton in an email statement that a disruption in rail service would have a “profound impact” on several industries and sectors in the Hamilton area, including manufacturing, agriculture and food processing, retail and construction materials.
“It will also significantly affect energy and fuel deliveries,” he said.
“Shutting down the country’s two main rail arteries would force businesses to shift their freight to trucks, overwhelming an already strained transportation network. There simply isn’t the capacity to absorb the displaced rail freight, including on our already congested roads and highways,” he wrote.
$1 billion worth of goods
Industry groups — the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters — pushed the federal government to take “immediate action” by referring the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board or pass back-to-work legislation.
“The federal government must show leadership and act before our trains — and with them, our economy — grind to a halt. Otherwise, the steep price of inaction will be paid by Canadian families, workers and businesses,” said a statement from the groups.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Wednesday the federal government expects the two railway companies and their union to “do their jobs” and reach an agreement to stave off a hit to the economy.
The companies say they will start locking out workers in the early hours of Thursday if they cannot reach a deal with the union representing 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers. That would bring the roughly $1 billion worth of goods that move on the companies’ tracks every day to a sudden stop.
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal Dofasco is among the industries in Hamilton that rely on the delivery of goods by rail. It referred CBC Hamilton to the the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s position, which also emphasized the impact on the U.S. economy.
“Significant two-way trade and deeply integrated supply chains between Canada and the United States mean that any significant rail disruption will jeopardize the livelihoods of workers across multiple industries on both sides of the border,” said a statement posted to its website.
GO train service on Hunter Street would be impacted
GO train service from Hamilton GO, the Hunter Street station, will also be disrupted, said Metrolinx spokesperson Andrea Ernesaks.
“We are closely monitoring this situation and will inform our customers of any changes should a labour disruption occur,” she said in a statement Monday.
She said approximately 600 people takes trains from the Hamilton GO station on a daily basis. The West Harbour station would not be impacted, she said.
Commuters who usually use Hamilton GO can instead use West Harbour GO, Aldershot GO in Burlington, or take a GO bus along Route 16.