Jagmeet Singh threatens to dissolve Parliament after Liberals end rail strike

The Canadian Press / Ryan Remiorz

New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh threatened to dissolve Parliament Thursday after cabinet forced binding arbitration on workers to end the ruinous 17-hour rail work stoppage. "Whether it’s a confidence motion or not, I don’t care," he said.

Cabinet on the first day of a national rail shutdown by the two largest commercial railway carriers, Canadian Pacific (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN), ordered the dispute to binding arbitration. 

The lockout of 9,300 railroaders, represented by railway union Teamsters Canada, began at 12:01 am. Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon announced the mandatory order at 4:46 pm Eastern, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.

"Canada’s economy cannot wait," Minister MacKinnon told reporters. "Obviously I am acting at a very early stage here," he added. "I assume the trains will be running within days."

MacKinnon invoked Canada Labour Code Section 107, mandating binding arbitration to "resume forthwith" railway operations. The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) will oversee collective agreements until new deals are signed.

The Trudeau Liberals have ordered CN Rail and CPKC workers back to work. Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon says he's using his power "to secure industrial peace and deliver the short and long term solutions that are in the national interest."https://t.co/vD78U4ZuZQ pic.twitter.com/SppVIaMJ19

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Singh condemned the order in solidarity with workers. "Being a bad boss pays off," he claimed, calling out the Liberals for their "cowardly, anti-worker" actions. 

"They will always cave to corporate greed," Singh told reporters. He contends there will be "no end" to lockouts now. Minister MacKinnon signalled he is "confident" it will.

Following the declaration, CN ended its lockout, while CPKC is "preparing to restart railway operations." Teamsters Canada issued a 72-hour strike notice Friday morning against CN, with some 3,300 CPKC employees also challenging the binding arbitration directive.

The labour minister rejected binding arbitration last week, but later concluded the shutdown of the two largest railways was not indicative of a good faith negotiation. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also told reporters, just hours ahead of the rail shutdown, that any strike was intolerable. 

"This happens all too frequently," said MacKinnon, calling the parties "elusive" in contract negotiations. "We gave negotiations every possible opportunity to succeed right up until midday," he told reporters Thursday.

Jagmeet Singh says the NDP will vote against back-to-work legislation that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau might attempt to introduce to end the rail strike. pic.twitter.com/EN9cKoQwyh

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The lockout was the first national rail shutdown since 2022. The last dispute ended in three days. A 2019 Teamsters strike ended after eight days without legislation. The union opposed mandatory arbitration.

Teamsters expressed profound disappointment with the decision it considered "shameful," accusing the Trudeau government of resorting to binding arbitration because they couldn't garner enough support for a legislated resolution.

The last time a minority Parliament passed back-to-work legislation to end a rail dispute was in 1973, reported Blacklock’s Reporter. Majority Parliaments have quickly passed back-to-work bills five times since 1950.

"We are going to vote against any measure that attacks working people," said Singh. "Back-to-work, binding arbitration, we will be voting against it. We will be fighting it every step of the way. I made that abundantly clear to Justin Trudeau."

"Liberals have sold out working people again and again with back-to-work legislation, forcing them back to work, undermining their rights."

Canada continues to struggle economically, and now for the first time in history, under the Liberals leadership, the country's two largest railways are on strike.

But PM Trudeau say's he's taking things "so seriously."https://t.co/vD78U502Po pic.twitter.com/hsCfO4Fcxv

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The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said in a Thursday press release the two companies had refused multiple offers and shown themselves "willing to compromise rail safety and tear families apart to earn an extra buck."

Meanwhile, CN rebuked the union, which is accused of not responding to its final offer to "avoid a labour disruption." CPKC said the union continues to make "unrealistic demands."

Business groups including the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Canadian Chamber of Commerce sought mandatory arbitration. Shippers put losses at $1 billion daily.