Possible blow to CP: CFIB and MEQ worried about fallout

The strike notice given by the union representing Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) employees is alarming two organizations, which fear major repercussions for companies’ supply.

• Read also: Three days away from closing down the Canadian Pacific

Therefore, manufacturers and exporters in Quebec (MEQ) have asked the two parties involved in the dispute to quickly reach an agreement to avoid service disruption.

We urge the parties to reach a settlement quickly. CP downtime is the last thing manufacturers need right now. This would have a significant economic impact on our business. It’s not manufacturers or exporters that are sitting at the negotiating table, but they will be directly affected by the situation, Véronique Proulx, MEQ’s president and CEO, said in a press release on Friday.

“After all that we’ve been through in the past few months, after all the turmoil that’s piled up and rocked our supply chains, we don’t need to,” she added.

With no agreement in sight, the organization requested Ottawa’s involvement in the matter, a solution also supported by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

“It would be a bad time for further supply chain disruption for small and medium-sized businesses, many of which depend on rail transportation to send and receive goods domestically or internationally,” said Yasmine Genetti, CFIB’s Vice President of National Affairs.

Nearly 89% of small and medium-sized businesses are already affected by supply chain disruptions, particularly in the construction and manufacturing sectors, according to CFIB data.

CP sent out a notice of the closure on Wednesday, which will take effect on Sunday if no agreement is reached with the Canadian Rail Teamsters Conference (TCRC).

Train drivers and yard workers as well as locomotive engineers, for their part, voted by majority to start a strike in early March.