July 21, 2023 – The BCMEA has received communication from ILWU Canada and confirmed that the ILWU Longshore Caucus has approved and will recommend to their membership the Terms of the tentative Settlement that was proposed by the senior federal mediator. We understand that the ILWU will be conducting a stop working meeting on the 0800 (day) shift on Tuesday, July 25th, 2023 to recommend the terms of the tentative settlement to their membership. We will advise regarding the Vancouver Container Terminals work schedule for next week accordingly. Currently all Container Terminals in Vancouver are open and operating normally, without any issues being reported. Canaan Transport will be contacting affected customers individually to discuss remediation efforts for your cargo.
July 21, 2023 – Reports are filtering out that the port strike is officially over as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 502 says on its website that its bargaining committee has reached a tentative agreement with the BC Maritime Employers Association. We will provide confirmation once it is finalized.
July 21, 2023 – The union caucus will be taking another vote today to see if it will send the tentative agreement to its membership for a vote in a clear cut sign that pressure is indeed mounting on the union to agree to the deal. More news as it develops but at this time the ports in Canada’s west coast are operational until Monday.
July 20, 2023 – With the union returning to work today a growing sense that a deal is close continues to grow as pressure mounts on all sides. Canaan Transport believes that the strike will be over shortly as public sentiment is now switching to anger over the union’s tactics. Customers are still advised to “wait and see” at this point in time.
July 19, 2023 – Canada is fast becoming the laughing stock of the world as chaos defined today’s announcements in the ongoing west coast Canada port strike. Here is a quick summary of what has happened today:
- The Federal Labour Minister calling any continued strike action illegal
- The union issuing a 72 hour strike notice as required by its collective bargaining agreement
- The Port of Vancouver announcing that the port will reopen tonight but will close on Friday in anticipation of more strike action
- News reports emerge that the government will recall parliament to pass back to work legislation
- Late tonight, the union cancelled its strike notice
With these events, it seems very likely that cooler heads will prevail and the union will agree to the mediated settlement and avoid more chaos. More news as it develops.
July 18, 2023 – In a surprising and disappointing twist, the union has rejected the mediated settlement recommended by its own leadership and the Canada west coast port strike resumed about 1 hour ago. More news as it develops.
July 12, 2023 – Canaan Transport is pleased to report that a tentative deal has been reached and the west coast Canada port strike will end shortly. More details to come.
July 12, 2023 – It appears that we are close to seeing an end to the port strike as Seamus O’Regan, the federal labour minister, yesterday night invoked his statutory powers under the Canada Labour Code and has named a Mediator to draft the terms of a recommended settlement within 24 hours. After such time, the Labour Minister will share the proposal with both sides (BCMEA/ILWU) and will provide another 24 hours for them to review and communicate such proposal with their members for ratification. Picket lines remain in place at the Container Terminals and all marine terminal cargo operations continue to be shut down. Canaan Transport is now looking at the restart as soon as next week if all goes well. Customers with diversion request are asked to contact our team directly for further discussion.
July 10, 2023 – Talks in Pacific Canada between striking dock workers and their employers have resumed after four days away from the negotiation table, a statement on Saturday by the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) showed. The BCMEA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) met on Saturday, supported by federal mediators, the statement said. The talks had stalled on Tuesday and the two sides broke off negotiations. As we have always stated, a compromise by both sides must be had for a successful negotiation. Canaan Transport looks forward to a speedy resolution to put an end to this strike.
July 7, 2023 – There are now increased calls from various stakeholders for government intervention in Canada’s west coast port strike. As of today, 2 container vessels have already decided to skip Canadian ports and proceed to the USA. In addition, new data from MarineTraffic shows 15 containerships bound for Vancouver and 9 containerships bound for Prince Rupert. Canaan Transport has heard from various sources that the government is strongly looking at recalling parliament sooner rather than later. More news as it develops. We also take this opportunity to inform our customers and partners that our terminals across Canada are currently closed to accepting new inbound shipments. If you require assistance, please contact us to discuss.