N.B. won't dodge impact of potential rail shutdown

Port Saint John and business groups are warning that New Brunswick won'tbe exempt from the pain caused by potential interruptionsto rail service in Canada.

Canada's two main rail companies, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, have said they plan on locking out workers starting Thursday.

This comes after the Teamsters union, which represents workers at both railways, issued a 72-hour strike notice on Sunday.

A lockout or a strike could have a major impacton the supply chain for untold numbers of businesses.

'Deeply concerned,' Port says

Port Saint John saidit's "monitoring this situation very closely."

In a statement to CBCNews on Monday, spokesperson BeckyKnox said they're"deeply concerned by the imminent potential work stoppages at CPKC and CN that will have a widespread impact on Port operations."

Hundreds of thousands of metric tonnes of potash travel by train from Saskatchewan to Port Saint John ever year and astrike or a lockout would halt those shipments, affecting work at the port.

Though goods, including potash, are still moving, CN and CPKC have "started to introduce some cargo embargoes and intermodal terminal restrictions," Knox said.

"In Saint John, we expect to begin feeling the effects of this imminently."

Ryan Greer, spokesperson for the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters group, the impact can already be felt.

"You're already starting to see notifications for certain kinds of chemicals and other hazardous materials that are no longer being accepted, certain cross-border traffic," said Greer.

"I think we're going to start to hear in the next few days [about] the firms and the companies that are being directly impacted today and what that will mean for their operations and their workforce."

Echoes of 2020

Louis-Philippe Gauthier, the vice-president, Atlantic, for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said to get an idea of how damaging the shutdown could be, look back to rail blockades of 2020.

While the cause of the interruptions is different, in 2020 it was due to protests of the Coastal GasLinkpipeline, the impact felt could be similar, especially when it comes to delivering energy through Canada.

"There's a lot of propane that's being transferred through rail," said Gauthier.

"That would have an impact relatively quickly because you need basically a constant replenishment of that molecule."

Gauthier said any disruption would also impact businesses thatrely on rail to get parts, as part of "just in time" shipping, which generally is a cheaper way to do business, but is notoriously susceptible to transportation issues.

No simple alternative

According to the Railway Association of Canada, 330-million metric tonnes of freight weremoved by Canadian railroads in 2022.

While there are other options for shipping goods, including cargo ships, trucking and air, Gauthier said in Canada rail is still king.

"Realistically, rail is something that is essential within the country," said Gauthier.

Information Morning - Moncton8:51Rail disruption

Much of Canada's freight rail traffic could grind to a halt this Thursday if workers and the companies can't strike a deal. Jeanne Armstrong spoke toLouis-Philippe Gauthier, VP Atlantic with CFIB, about what a rail disruptioncould mean for businesses in New Brunswick.

Greer said it would be better if the unions and railways could come to an agreement before Thursday.

But since that appears unlikely, he would like to see the federal governmentstep in.

"It is really up to the federal government to take charge and do what is needed to ensure that all of the businesses and their workers that rely on the railways are not left out in the cold," said Greer.

Gauthier is also calling on Ottawa to get involved.

"Our ask of the federal government is to consider rail and ports at the same time essentially as essential to the economy, essential workers," said Gauthier.