2024 Canada railway shutdown

The 2024 Canada railway shutdown is the result of a labour-business dispute that shut down the freight railway operations of the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). The shutdown also included passenger trains operating on CPKC tracks, but not passenger trains running on CN tracks. The shutdown began on August 22, 2024 when CN and CPKC locked out over 9,300 employees. On the same day, Minister of Labour Steve MacKinnon referred the matter to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), directing binding arbitration. He stated that operations would resume within days. However, one professor of business law, Gilles LeVasseur at the University of Ottawa, has stated that the minister only has the power to refer the issue to the CIRB, but it is then up to the Board to determine what steps it should take. LeVasseur states that the Board can only order binding arbitration if it is convinced that is the only way to deal with the dispute. A professor of employment law at the University of Manitoba, Bruce Curran, has commented that if the Board tries to order the workers back on the job, the union could seek judicial review of the decision, creating uncertainty and delays.
On August 24, 2024, the CIRB ordered all employees back to work, and for CN and CPKC trains to start running on August 26. It also ordered binding arbitration to begin on August 29. The CIRB order ends the lock-out and voids the strike notice against CN. Teamsters said they would comply with the order, but will appeal the CIRB's decision.
Political response
Three provincial premiers commented on the industrial dispute:
* On August 16, a week before the shutdown, Premier Smith of Alberta was already calling on the federal government to enact back-to-work legislation, in the event of a shutdown.
* On August 22, Premier Ford of Ontario, Canada's largest province, urged the parties to return to the bargaining table and keep the railways operating. In a public statement, Ford stated: "The rail shutdown at CN and CPKC is already costing workers, transit users and businesses across the country, and we cannot afford to let things get worse."
* On August 23, 2024, the day after the federal referral, some trains had resumed service in British Columbia, but not all. Premier Eby of British Columbia stated that a continued shutdown would be devastating to the British Columbia economy, for the ports of Prince Rupert and Vancouver, and then spreading to small businesses. He urged the parties to return to negotiations.
At the federal level, the New Democratic Party has harshly criticised the Liberal government's decision to refer the matter to the Board for arbitration. The Liberal minority government has a confidence-and-supply agreement with the New Democratic Party.
The Conservative party, the Official Opposition, has not commented on the railway issue.
The lockout resulted in the suspension of several commuter rail services operating on CPKC lines. The West Coast Express in Vancouver suspended its entire line. Services on Ontario's GO Transit's Milton line, as well as to Hamilton station on the Lakeshore West line, were suspended. Exo's Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint-Jérôme, and Candiac lines in Montreal suspended operation. Via Rail's service between Sudbury and White River was suspended. Passenger trains operating on Canadian National lines were not affected, as Canadian National dispatchers are not part of the work stoppage.

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