As harvest time nears uncertainty remains as workers at both the country’s major railways remain without new collective agreements
Harvest is drawing closer for farmers on the prairies, but a looming rail strike is casting a pall over what could be a good haul this summer.
Many farmers are looking at a potentially good yield coming off the fields, Bill Prybylski, a vice-president at the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), said.
“For the most part, crops are looking like they’ve got pretty decent potential,” he said.
Prybylski said farmers in some parts of the province are seeing their crops suffer due to dry conditions, while other farmers such as himself have crops that do not need any more moisture. He said there are also some areas where rain in the weeks leading up to harvest could be beneficial.
The Yorkton-area farmer currently has an optimistic outlook about this year’s crop, but there is still much uncertainty for food producers and handlers since workers at both of the country’s major railways remain without a new collective bargaining agreement.
This means there is a real potential for a disruption in rail service as farmers begin to harvest, which Prybylski said is an especially bad time for a disruption to occur.
“To get our bills paid at this time of year, we have to sell our grain,” he said.
Prybylski said APAS is hopeful about building a relationship with the federal government’s newly appointed labour minister. On July 19, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped Steven MacKinnon to take over the labour portfolio from Seamus O’Regan, who resigned from cabinet.
“As an organization, we’re looking forward to getting to know him and hopefully developing some sort of relationship with him for any issues that might arise with regards to agriculture and labour,” he said.
Farmers are not the only group concerned about the potential of a rail service disruption.
Wade Sobkowich, the executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, which represents grain elevator companies across the Prairie provinces, said much uncertainty remains for the entire grain industry due to the rail strike potential.
Much of that uncertainty is because the dispute remains before the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), which is set to hand down a decision in early August after starting its review process in May after workers at Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. voted to strike earlier in the month.
The board could potentially order shipments of certain goods to continue during a strike or may decide not to impose any restrictions at all.
Sobkowich said the uncertainty around what could be coming next has put elevator companies in a tough position.
“It’s very difficult to plan,” he said.
In the event of a service disruption, Sobkowich said grain companies need to make preparations, which include informing customers and slowing deliveries into their elevators. He added that elevator companies do not have any alternatives when it comes to moving grain.
“We ship everything by rail,” he said.
Sobkowich said grain shippers will be on the hook for a number of costs if there is a strike, including potentially reimbursing customers and compensating shipping companies when their ships are stuck in port waiting for their load.
He also said there are losses that can be difficult to measure, such as reputational damage.
“Canada (could be) seen as the supplier of last resort given the chronic and perpetual work stoppages that we have,” he said.
Sobkowich said his organization hopes Mackinnon will bring about a change from the previous minister.
“We’re hoping there will be a different mindset in terms of trying to bring this dispute to a conclusion without a work stoppage,” he said.
The Teamsters Rail Conference Canada (TCRC) union, meanwhile, said it liked working with O’Regan, which included banning replacement workers in federally regulated workplaces and implementing paid sick days, and is looking forward to working with the new minister in all relevant sectors.
“We trust that his approach will be consistent with this government’s commitment to free collective bargaining as protected by the charter,” a union statement said.
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