Canada orders binding arbitration to end port lockout

With the lockouts, $930m of goods are being affected daily, affecting supply chains and local economy, the government says. Minister of Labour Steven Mackinnon said on Tuesday that the negotiations had reached an impasse and he was directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the resumption of all operations at the ports of Vancouver and Montreal and move the talks to binding arbitration. As minister of labour, that responsibility falls to me.” MacKinnon said 1.3 billion Canadian dollars of goods is affected every day. International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514, which represents supervisory longshore workers at the heart of the British Columbia dispute, said it will file a legal challenge to the minister’s orders. Meanwhile, the Canadian Labour Congress said in a statement, “The government is sending a dangerous message: Employers can bypass meaningful negotiations, lock out their workers, and wait for political intervention to secure a more favourable deal,”