Canada ports prepare to resume operations, but timeline still unclear

TORONTO (ICIS)–The Port of Vancouver and other Canadian West Coast ports as well as the Port of Montreal were preparing on Wednesday to resume operations, but the exact timeline remains unclear, officials said in updates.

The government on Tuesday directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to order the resumption of all operations at the ports and to settle pending labor disputes through binding arbitration.

It may take a couple of days before operations at the ports resume, according to the country’s labor minister. The CIRB is an independent agency with its own procedures.

The Port of Vancouver acknowledged the government intervention but said that a timeline for full resumption of impacted operations has yet to be determined.

The Port of Montreal said that cargo handling activities would gradually resume over the coming days, subject to when the CIRB issues its order.

It would take several weeks to clear terminal backlogs and restore the fluidity of supply chains, it added.

Labor disruptions at Vancouver and the other West Coast ports were at their 10th day on Wednesday, and at Montreal they were at their 14th day.

In the chemical industry, trade group Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) welcomed the government intervention.

More than Canadian dollar (C$) 22 million ($15.7 million) of chemistry and plastic products was traded through Vancouver and other West Coast ports each day in 2023, for a total of C$8 billion for the year, CIAC said.

This includes products that go into making chlorine and related products for municipal drinking water and exports of organic chemicals and resins to global markets, it said.

The government needed to do more to avoid “harmful disruptions to our trade infrastructure”, said CIAC president and CEO Bob Masterson.

Canada has a limited number of ports that are capable of handling large container ships that are capable of shipping goods to foreign markets, he said.

“Continued disruptions signal the wrong message to our trading partners and companies who want to invest in Canada: that Canada cannot be relied on to get their products where they need to go,” he said.

Meanwhile, the unions representing the port workers said they would challenge the government’s intervention in the disputes in court.

Earlier, another labor union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), filed a court challenge against the government’s move in August to intervene and end a freight rail labor dispute. That case has not yet been decided.

The unions argue that the government interventions violate workers’ rights to strike.

($1=C$1.4)

Thumbnail shows containers that are commonly handled in ports. Image by Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock