There is a possibility that freight rail services in Canada will be completely suspended. Labor negotiations between the railroad company Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and the labor union Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) are at a standstill. There is a possibility that the company may lock out or the labor union may go on strike as early as August 22nd.
If all services were to be suspended, not only would goods not be able to reach domestic consumers, but they would not be sent to ports for export overseas, and products arriving at ports from overseas would not be distributed throughout Canada. Industry groups have warned that if railroads, which transport about $1 billion worth of goods a day for agriculture, automobiles, manufacturing, construction, and other industries, are halted, it will have an adverse effect on a large part of the Canadian economy.
They have called on the Canadian government to intervene, but the government has refused. It was learned on August 15 that the two sides have a responsibility to resolve the issue, and that they have sent a letter to CN to continue negotiations and reach a resolution. The Canadian railway companies are CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway Company (CPKC), and the TCRC union has about 10,000 members working for the two companies. CN has announced that if no agreement is reached, it will begin blocking its facilities at 12:01 a.m. ET on August 22, and the union has said it will give 72 hours’ notice to strike.