Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon intervened Tuesday to end work stoppages at the ports of British Columbia and Montreal, directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the resumption of all operations and bring talks to a binding arbitration.

But labor experts and other groups say the minister’s decision to intervene in the dispute sets a dangerous precedent that undermines workers’ rights.

“It further erodes employers’ incentives to reach agreements at the bargaining table, because it reinforces the idea that they can just drag things out and wait for government intervention to solve their problems,” said Barry Eidlin, associate professor of sociology at McGill University.

It’s the second time this year that Ottawa has taken this route, the first time being this summer, when Canada’s two main railways ground to a halt. Eidlin and others also criticized that decision, which is being challenged in court by the Teamsters union.

“The employers’ strategy worked,” Eidlin said.

“The goal of the lockout was not to pressure workers, but to pressure the government to intervene.”

The Maritime Employers Association laid off 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal on Sunday night after workers voted to reject what employers called a final contract offer.

The job action came after British Columbia port workers were fired last week amid a labor dispute involving more than 700 port supervisors, resulting in a paralysis of container cargo traffic at the terminals. the west coast.

Business groups had been calling for government intervention to revive the flow of goods.

The minister said Tuesday that negotiations had reached an impasse as work stoppages at ports in British Columbia and the Port of Montreal affected supply chains, thousands of jobs and Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner. .

“Negotiated agreements are the best way forward, but we must not allow other Canadians to suffer when certain parties fail to live up to their responsibility to reach an agreement,” MacKinnon said in a statement announcing the decision.

“It is my duty and responsibility to act in the interest of businesses, workers, farmers, families and all Canadians.”

MacKinnon said he hopes operations at the ports can be restored within days.

Alison Braley-Rattai, an associate professor of labor at Brock University, said the mechanism used by MacKinnon allows the government to bypass the process of passing back-to-work legislation, meaning they don’t have to rely on support from others. matches. in the House of Commons.

“What we are seeing now, at least in the federal sector, seems very cynical,” he said in an email, with employers precipitating a work stoppage so they can ask the government to impose arbitration.

Government intervention in labor disputes has consequences, Braley-Rattai added: If employers believe they can use lockouts to obtain binding arbitration, they might be incentivized to prolong negotiations “to the point where a lockout seems like the solution.” obvious next step.” ”

“Continued reliance on binding arbitration may make it more difficult for parties to reach their own negotiated agreements in the future,” he said.

“Governments, then, should exercise restraint with respect to intervention.”

At a news conference Tuesday, MacKinnon said he does not take the decision to intervene in the collective bargaining process lightly, but that all talks were stalled with no immediate way forward. That made the duration of the strike unclear and created a real economic risk, he said.

“And Canadians have a limited tolerance right now for economic self-harm,” he said.

The Quebec section of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the port of Montreal’s nearly 1,200 dockworkers, denounced the government’s decision, calling it a “dark day for workers’ rights.”

“The right to collective bargaining is a constitutional right,” the union said in a press release in French.

The federal NDP echoed the union’s criticism, accusing Ottawa of rolling back union rights and bowing to corporate interests.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business expressed relief; However, both said it is clear that a longer-term solution is needed to avoid future disruptions.

The current disputes come less than a year and a half after different workers at most of British Columbia’s port terminals went on strike for 13 days in July 2023.

Earlier this year, the government announced an investigation into that strike to avoid economic disruption on that scale.

MacKinnon reiterated the need for long-term solutions.

“It is the responsibility of our government to ensure industrial peace,” he said.

The CFIB on Tuesday called on the government to designate ports as essential so that they are not subject to such strikes in the future.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.