(Vancouver) Justin Trudeau said Friday that the federal government will continue to pressure both sides to end the port strike in British Columbia, as the work stoppage continues for a seventh day.
The premier, who is in Calgary, said he was aware of the impact the strike would have on prairie producers.
About 7,400 members of the Canadian International Longshore Warehouse Federation have been on strike since Saturday at about 30 ports in British Columbia.
There is currently no sign that the impasse will be resolved as the talks collapsed on Monday.
The BC Marine Employers Association is urging the union to resume negotiations through a “voluntary mediation and arbitration process,” while the union accuses the employers of trying to get the government to do its “dirty work.”
Trudeau said the best deals happen at the negotiating table and that he knows “there is a solution.”
“But I also know the pressure is mounting day by day, and people are really, really concerned about what things could become next week, and so are we,” Trudeau said.
Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, said on Friday that the port strike had caused “extreme difficulties” for producers and exporters in her province.
She stated that she had written to Mr Trudeau asking him to summon Parliament to end the strike.
Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Drechen had earlier called on the federal government to consider back-to-work legislation.
Opposition members of the BC legislature added their voices to business groups and politicians calling for action to end the strike.
A statement released on Friday by Greg Kelow and Ben Stewart of PC United says NDP chairman David Ibe should ask the federal government to intervene in the labor dispute.
“While other county chief ministers have expressed concern, Chief Minister David Ibe and NDP Labor Minister Harry Baines have remained silent as the effects of the strike continue to mount,” Mr Kilo said in the press release.
The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, which represents port officials, issued a statement Thursday saying it had been told of layoffs in related industries because of the strike and that the strike had disrupted 4.6 billion freight.
The BC Forest Industries Board has also called for federal intervention if longshoremen and employers do not come up with a quick solution.
The organization’s chief economist, Kurt Noedet, said some logging companies were considering rail or truck shipments to transport their lumber to the United States, but that was not an option for companies that needed access to Asian markets.
Longshoremen members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada voted overwhelmingly in favor of striking for better pay and provisions against outsourcing and automation, but negotiations stalled on Monday over interview questions.
The union president said at a solidarity rally Thursday that the British Columbia Marine Employers Association has walked away from the table three times.
Rob Ashton told the crowd that employers are waiting for the federal government to do its “dirty work instead of treating workers with respect” through negotiation.
Federal Labor Secretary Seamus O’Regan urged both sides to use mediators and resume talks.
“Food trailblazer. Passionate troublemaker. Coffee fanatic. General analyst. Certified creator. Lifelong music expert. Alcohol specialist.”