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Last week, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) was front and centre in calling on the federal government to prevent an unprecedented shutdown of our Canadian freight rail network and some commuter services in major cities.
CCC issued a joint statement with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a separate joint statement with the Business Council of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. This all followed a letter signed by over 120 local chambers*, boards of trade and business associations sent on August 9 to the Prime Minister and Minister of Labour asking them to take action. *including the Assiniboia Chamber of Commerce.
While a rail stoppage was not prevented, the Canadian Chamber was successful in securing an end to it on August 22, with the government sending the labour disputes for final arbitration at the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).
The next day, on August 23, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference served CN with a 72-hour strike notice, signalling an intent to strike as of 10 a.m. ET on Monday, August 26. However, on August 24, CIRB imposed binding arbitration and ordered rail workers back to work.
For a comprehensive review of the dispute and the Canadian Chamber’s efforts leading up to and during the rail stoppage, you can watch an interview with our Senior Vice President of Policy and Government Relations, Matthew Holmes, on CBC’s Power and Politics.
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