October 30, 2023 – The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) and the union representing 360 unionized employees reached an agreement that ends the strike that began on October 22. The agreement will have to be ratified by employees in the coming days. Employees were expected to return to work this morning
October 20, 2023 – The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) was served with a 72-hour notice to strike by Unifor on October 18, for locals 4211, 4319, 4212, 4323 and 4320. The union intends to begin strike action as of 00:01 on Sunday, October 22. As a result of Unifor’s strike notification, SLSMC has started implementing its detailed plans for an orderly and safe shutdown of the system within the 72-hour notice period. Should the unionized workers proceed with strike action, the St. Lawrence Seaway will be closed to all traffic.
August 31, 2023 – Statistics Canada has released new data about how the economy started off the third quarter, saying the country’s GDP remains essentially unchanged. One economist says it highlights an ongoing trend of weak performance. "The economy is flat-lining… we are not seeing any indications of strong growth," said David Macdonald, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. "If we do end up in a recession, which is very plausible… (it) would be a rounding error recession at this point." As Canadian growth remains stuck in neutral for a second consecutive month, Macdonald explains it’s becoming part of an "ongoing trend" for the country’s economy. "We’ve been going through this very weak growth… but at the same time, the interest rate has been rising," Macdonald said. "Usually we’d see the opposite… we’d see rates go down." That’s leading to a "very unusual" situation, warns Macdonald, because consumers aren’t seeing any relief, even as growth slows.
September 26, 2023 – Multiple sources confirmed yesterday that the executive committee of CUPE 375 sent a Notice of Dispute to the Minister of Labour after only one meeting with the Montreal Port Authority at which initial demands were exchanged.
As a result of this action, strike action at the Port of Montreal is possible in the coming months.
August 8, 2023 – With the port strike now over, recovery efforts will not begin in earnest across all modes of transportation that were affected by the 3 week strike. Estimates are that it will take at least 2 months for the rail and port infrastructure to return to operating efficiency. Canaan Transport will be contacting affected clients individually to discuss your shipments. Thank you for your patience.
August 4, 2023 – In an anti-climatic vote the union has accepted the latest deal and the port strike is now over. News on continued recovery efforts will be forthcoming.
August 2, 2023 – With a self imposed media blackout there has been little information on the status of the on again off again Canada west coast port strike. However the ports will be shut down this afternoon to allow the union to have a meeting prior to their vote on the tentative deal. The vote will happen no later than Friday so we expect that the recovery will begin in earnest next week. More news as it develops.
August 1, 2023 – The ILWU will meet with membership at 0800 PT on Wednesday, August 2, to recommend the terms of settlement of the tentative agreement reached with the BCMEA. ILWU labour will return to work effective 1630 PT on August 2. Voting by ILWU membership is anticipated to occur on Thursday, August 3 and Friday, August 4. Regular operations at the port continue and recovery plans remain in effect.
July 30, 2023 – The union representing B.C. port workers has reached a tentative agreement with employers, averting another strike while capping a month of wild swings in industrial relations.
Both sides recommended late Sunday that their members accept the negotiated settlement, just hours after the union criticized employers for refusing to budge on the major sticking point of contracting out of jobs. Canaan Transport believes that this will be the final nail in the coffin and that labour peace will be achieved. Updates to come
July 29, 2023 – The federal government is seeking relief under the Canada Labour Code to resolve an impasse after union members at B.C. ports rejected a mediated tentative agreement. Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to intervene on Saturday, hours after the union announced that its eligible voting members turned down the proposed pact that their leadership agreed to accept last week.
He said he asked the board to determine whether the rejection of the recommended collective agreement means that the possibility of a negotiated settlement has been eliminated.
“If the board determines that to be the case, I have directed them to either impose a new collective agreement on the parties or impose final binding arbitration to resolve outstanding terms of the collective agreement,” Mr. O’Regan said in a statement on Saturday. “Our economy cannot face further disruption from this dispute.”