Canada's transport minister won't intervene in rail dispute, Sask. calls for action to avoid strike

The federal government said it won't intervene in the rail dispute that has the Ministry of Agriculture and other groups worried about a possible strike.

The government of Saskatchewan, CN Rail, and a number of business leaders have called on the federal government to step in with binding arbitration.

In a letter to Teamsters Canada Rail, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said it would not intervene.

"I would like to clarify that it is your shared responsibility — Canadian National Railways Company and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference — to negotiate in good faith and work diligently towards a new collective agreement," MacKinnon wrote in the letter.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and CN Rail said they'll lock out workers if an agreement with its union can't be reached by Thursday.

Negotiations have been ongoing for months, but little progress has been made towards a deal.

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More than ten leaders in the agriculture industry — including Canpotex, Fertilizer Canada, and Strathcona Resources — joined the government of Saskatchewan for a press conference, united in their concerns about a strike.

"Simply put, the impending rail stoppage would be disastrous," Terry Youzwa, representing Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, said.

Stakeholders worried a strike would spike already high food prices and damage Canada's trade relationship on the global stage.

"When grain doesn't move, farmers don't get paid. It means fewer foreign dollars that can enter the Canadian economy, so the impacts are going to be felt by Canadian consumers at the grocery store — both in terms of price and supply," Wade Sobkowich, with the Western Grain Elevator Association, said.

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit is hopeful movement can be made at the bargaining table to avoid a full stop at the rails.

"This has the impact of every citizen of this country — not just a farmer, or a rancher, or an oil company, or a potash mine," Marit said, urging Ottawa to act ahead of the planned lockout.

"There's still time for the parties to get back to the table. There's still time for the federal government to implement actions."