Alberta minister calls for back-to-work legislation to end B.C. port strike
Global News
Devin Dreeshen said he's frustrated the strike has continued since Saturday since Ottawa used legislation in 2021 to end a walkout by Port of Montreal dock workers after one day.
Alberta’s transport minister wants the federal government to recall Parliament to consider back-to-work legislation that would end a strike at British Columbia ports.
Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen said he’s frustrated the strike has continued since Saturday, particularly because Ottawa used legislation in 2021 to end a walkout by Port of Montreal dock workers after one day.
“They used Parliament to resolve it. And that same amount of urgency is something that we’re hoping that the federal government has in this case as well,” he said.
Dreeshen said Tuesday that Alberta has asked federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan for daily updates on negotiations between the BC Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada.
“It’s vitally important that the supply chain, this being a main critical component of it, remains open,” he said.
More than 7,000 workers at 30 ports across British Columbia have been on strike since Saturday morning, leading business organizations as well as officials in both Alberta and Saskatchewan to call on Ottawa to step in.
Talks stalled Monday, with the employers’ association issuing a statement saying it didn’t think more bargaining would produce a deal and the union saying the other side had changed its position on a key issue.
The union has previously said contracting out, port automation and the cost of living are key issues in the dispute.
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