OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canada’s labor minister said Tuesday he is stepping in to end lockouts at the country’s two largest ports.
Labor Minister Steven Mackinnon said negotiations have reached an impasse and he is directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the resumption of all port operations and move the talks to binding arbitration.
Workers at the Port of Montreal were locked out on Sunday and workers in Vancouver on the Pacific coast have been locked out since Nov. 4.
“There is a limit to the economic self-destruction that Canadians are willing to accept,” MacKinnon said. “In the face of economic self-destruction, there is an obligation to intervene. As Minister of Labor, that responsibility lies with me.”
MacKinnon said 1.3 billion Canadian dollars ($930 million) worth of goods are affected every day. He said this impacted supply chains, the economy and Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner. He said the parties showed an alarming lack of urgency.
Business groups had called for government intervention to restart the flow of goods.
The decision to end the stoppages comes after the government intervened in August to end suspended operations on Canada’s two major railways.
MacKinnon says he hopes operations can be restored within days.
