Sask. calls on Ottawa to end BC port workers' strike

Saskatchewan exporters are struggling to get their products to market after over 7,000 workers went on strike at 30 BC ports.

"It's going to affect the bottom line of our businesses in a big way," said Prabha Ramaswamy, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce.

Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) of Canada have been on strike since Saturday, demanding improved wages and provisions against automation.

With no alternative Canadian ports for landlocked provinces, companies big and small are feeling the pinch.

"They're unable to ship their products, they have to pay for storage of their products," Ramaswamy told CTV News. "And if they want to re-route their products, they're going to have to go through the United States, which costs them even more. And they will be in a queue."

According to the Chamber, more than $17 billion of Saskatchewan commodities are handled by the Vancouver-Fraser Port each year, much of that from the potash industry.

"Saskatchewan is the largest potash producer in the world, producing about 37 per cent of the world supply," said Brad Sigurdson, vice president of environment, safety and regulatory affairs at the Saskatchewan Mining Association.

"And as you can imagine, as a landlocked province, Saskatchewan exporters rely on timely and consistent access to our ports."

While grain vessels are still loading and moving, specialty pulse crops shipped by container are not.

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And slowdowns like these have ripple effects on agriculture producers too.

Overseas customers dealing with yet another supply chain issue could soon grow tired of the uncertainty from Canadian suppliers.

"We've had all these supply chain issues over and over," said Ian Boxall, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS).

"I fear our end buyers are going to look at us as an unreliable source for product and go somewhere else, that is one of my biggest fears with these supply chain issues."

Boxall says 10 per cent of pulse production is shipped by container, and customers need those products to feed their countries.

"All of that shipment of those products has ground to a halt," said Boxall. "And countries that are seeking pulses because of their high protein content, they can't afford meat, they're looking to the pulses for protein. They're going to be really wondering why they're doing business with Canada when we have another supply chain issue."

The province is calling on Ottawa to step in and take action.

"The ongoing labour action has already slowed down the flow of shipping, and the current work stoppage will have long-lasting effects on the supply chain," reads a statement from Jeremy Harrison, Minister of Trade and Export Development.

"We encourage the Government of Canada to do everything within its power to facilitate a resolution in the best interest of Canadians."