The Federal Labour Minister stepping in to end the disputes at BC Ports and the Port of Montreal is welcomed by the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) and other groups.

On Tuesday, Steven MacKinnon announced he ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board to ensure operations at the ports resume and to assist both sides in settling their collective agreements by imposing binding arbitration. MacKinnon also ordered the Board to extend the existing agreements until new ones are established. The B.C. Maritime Employers Association says it will follow the Board’s instructions of when container terminals will resume operations and will provide updates to members as soon as possible.

It ends a lockout of 700 longshore supervisors in B.C. that halted container cargo traffic and a lockout of 1,200 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal. Prior to being locked out, Montreal dockworkers rejected what the Maritime Employers Association called its final offer.

President of APAS Ian Boxall says the latest job action/lockout at the ports speaks to a much larger problem that needs to be addressed.

“We need a long-term fix. I think that’s the thing we need to ensure that somewhere along the line we start to have a long-term fix to our supply chains so we quit seeing these disruptions that we’ve seen,” says Boxall, “Seems like a lot this year and I think it has been with rail and port workers and dock workers and all of that, and I think there’s an avenue here we can have a long-term fix so that our supply chain works seamlessly for all of Canada because it is an essential service.”

Boxall acknowledged the rights unions and employers have in collective bargaining, but said there needs to be a solution to the constant disruption in the supply chain. “This affects all Canadians, we need to ensure that its working to the best of it’s ability.” Boxall added.

The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) is also happy about the disputes coming to an end. However, Executive Director Michael Harvey says these disruptions over the last two years are hurting Canada’s reputation as a reliable supplier. “Our country just needs to come and find a way to avoid shutting down our supply chain and causing so much risk in our supply chain.”

Harvey says how much damage the strikes and lockouts have done to Canada’s reputation is difficult to quantify.

The Saskatchewan Mining Association (SMA) is another group that is pleased with the federal government’s intervention. ““We are very appreciative that the Government of Canada has recognized the importance of trade to Canada’s economy. It is imperative to take action that supports the broader national interests of the security and reliability of the national supply chain that protects Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner. We can’t continue to economically self-destruct and lose market share to competing nations such as Russia. We unequivocally support the actions outlined by Minister MacKinnon” said Pam Schwann, SMA President in a emailed statement to SaskAgToday.com.

But not everyone is happy about it. National President of Teamsters Canada Francois LaPorte accuses the federal government of caving to corporate interests rather than letting both sides bargain in good faith. “The Labour Minister’s decision to constantly intervene in collective bargaining by forcing unions to binding arbitration, instead of forcing employers to bargain in good faith, effectively nullifies our Charter rights. Unions will fight this to the end. Canada is a strong country, and the idea that we are supposedly one strike or lockout away from economic collapse is a baseless narrative. We are already challenging the government in the courts to put an end to these repeated violations of our Charter rights. Today’s developments only add weight to our case.”added Laport in a statement.

Teamsters Canada is challenging MacKinnon’s use of the mechanism under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, the same one that ended the dispute between the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and CPKC and CN Rail earlier this year. The union representing locked-out port workers in B.C. also plans to challenge the intervention.

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh echoed the union’s criticism of the federal government’s decision to intervene rather than letting both sides come to a collective agreement independently.