CIAC applauds Minister MacKinnon for taking action on the rail disruption

August 22, 2024

The Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) applauds Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon on taking action to end to the unprecedented rail labour disruption affecting Canada two Class 1 railroads.  

CIAC is relieved to see that our members will soon begin the long process of resuming operations and getting critical chemicals to customers.  

“We thank the Government of Canada and Minister MacKinnon for working with the different parties to come to a resolution,” said Bob Masterson, President and CEO of CIAC.

“We expect the Canadian Industrial Labour Board to act promptly on the Minister’s orders. Past experience has shown that once rail service is disrupted, for each day of disruption, it can take three days or more to return to service once labour issues are resolved. Things will continue to be tight and will need monitoring, but this will be a big relief to our members and to all Canadians.”  

Today, Minister MacKinnon announced that he was invoking his authorities under the Canada Labour Code to “secure industrial peace and deliver the short and long-term solutions that are in the national interest.”  

The work stoppage, which started at 12:01 am August 22, threatened to lead to significant public safety impacts, as 96 per cent of Canadians rely on safe drinking water that needs chlorine and chlorine derivatives. The Government of Canada cited concerns about the inability to ship chlorine as a major reason for stepping in and imposing binding arbitration.  

CIAC looks forward to working with the government and key stakeholders to deliver a long-term solution that will keep employees’ interests in mind while maintaining critical supply chain infrastructure.