With lockouts, $930 million worth of goods are affected daily, affecting supply chains and the local economy, the government says.

Canada’s Labor Minister is intervening to end worker lockouts at the country’s two largest ports.

Labor Minister Steven Mackinnon said Tuesday that negotiations had reached an impasse and that he was directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the resumption of all operations at the ports of Vancouver and Montreal and bring the talks to binding arbitration.

Workers at the port of Montreal were blocked on Sunday and workers in Vancouver, on the Pacific coast, have been blocked since November 4.

“There is a limit to economic self-destruction that Canadians are willing to accept,” MacKinnon said. “In the face of economic self-destruction, there is an obligation to intervene. As Minister of Labor, that responsibility falls on me.”

MacKinnon said C$1.3 billion ($930 million) worth of goods are affected every day. He said it was affecting supply chains, the economy and Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner.

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

MacKinnon says he hopes operations can be restored within days.

The Maritime Employers Association laid off 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal on Sunday after workers voted to reject what employers called a final contract offer. Workers were asking for 20 percent increases over four years.

The job action came after British Columbia dockworkers were fired amid a labor dispute involving more than 700 port supervisors, resulting in a paralysis of container cargo traffic at West Coast terminals. .

Forced to intervene

It was the second time in a few months that the Liberal government intervened to stop a dispute. In August, he ordered an end to work stoppages at the country’s two largest railroad companies.

The left-wing government has previously expressed its preference for resolving labor disputes through collective bargaining. MacKinnon said he had been forced to intervene after federal mediators reported that talks in Montreal and Vancouver were at an impasse.

The centre-left opposition New Democrats, a pro-union party that props up the minority Liberal government, accused Ottawa of caving in to employers.

“Back to work orders suppress wages for all Canadians, so billionaires get richer and the rest of Canadians are left even further behind,” leader Jagmeet Singh said in a statement, but he made no mention of the possibility of withdraw support for the liberals.

The Teamsters union, which represents employees of the two major railroad companies who were embroiled in a labor dispute in August, has filed court challenges against labor board rulings that forced them to return to work.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Labor Congress said in a statement: “The government is sending a dangerous message: employers can sidestep meaningful negotiations, lock out their workers and wait for political intervention to secure a more favorable deal.”