The latest developments in the lockout at Canada’s two biggest railways

In the culmination of months of increasingly bitter negotiations, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers after the parties failed to agree on a new contract before the midnight deadline.

Here are the latest developments on the rail stoppage (all times are ET):

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9:30 a.m.: A group representing 97,000 small- and medium-sized businesses says its members are concerned about not getting essential shipments of aviation gas for forest fighting equipment, manufacturing materials, vehicle parts, retail products and agricultural equipment.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says the stoppages will also lead to less availability of grocery and drugstore goods, including baby formula.

Some small businesses have already told the organization they will need to halt operations because they will no longer be able to receive critical materials or meet contractual obligations.

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8:44 a.m.: Ontario’s premier called on CN and CKPC to get back to the table and reach a fair deal.

Doug Ford said in a post on X that the rail shutdown had already cost workers, transit users and businesses across the country.

“We cannot afford to let things get worse,” he said.

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8:20 a.m.: Commuters arriving at Union Station in Toronto are greeted with announcements apologizing for the rail stoppage.

The announcements run every few minutes and advise travellers to visit gotransit.com to learn more about their alternatives and find updates as the situation evolves.

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8:15 a.m.: A group representing 65,000 grain farmers and producers says the work stoppages will inflict “severe” damage on the industry and the broader Canadian economy at a “most critical” time.

With the harvest season upon the country, Grain Growers of Canada says rail transportation is essential for moving crops to market.

It estimates that the initial impact of the dual stoppage will cost grain farmers more than $43 million a day in the first week alone but adds losses could climb to $50 million a day if the actions surpass the one week mark.

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8:04 a.m.: A few dozen workers are rallying outside CN headquarters in downtown Montreal, holding Teamsters Canada flags and banners.

In a speech to the gathering, Teamsters Canada president François Laporte blamed the conflict on the companies.

“They are the ones who should be ashamed,” he told the crowd. “They are taking the entire economy hostage. They are taking the workers hostage, and shame on them.”

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8:01 a.m.: The head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce urged the country’s minister of labour to resolve the conflict through binding arbitration.

In a statement, Canadian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Perrin Beatty says the federal government had the opportunity to prevent the shutdown, but did not act.

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8 a.m.: TransLink says the labour dispute has pushed it to suspend its West Coast Express service, which travels between downtown Vancouver and Mission City during the weekday rush hours.

The B.C. transit provider added additional bus service to help move customers who rely on the West Coast Express.

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8 a.m.: Montreal transit operator Exo says the work stoppage had made it impossible to offer service on three of its lines.

The lines affected spanned Vaudreuil/Hudon, Saint‑Jérôme and Candiac.

Exo says it is working to set up an alternative bus service as soon as Aug. 26.

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7:29: Many arrived at stations along GO Transit’s Milton line only to learn the rail work stoppage would upend their commute.

Customer care workers stopped commuters on their way into the Cooksville parking lot to tell them about the job action and alternative travel options.

Shuttles were running every 30 minutes to take those at the station to Port Credit’s GO hub, where they could catch a ride on the Lakeshore line.

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7:15 a.m.: GO Transit says its service “may be busier than usual” as the rail work stoppage brings one of its commuter lines to a standstill, upending travel plans for thousands of daily commuters.

The regional transit service for southern Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe region says rail service has been suspended at Hamilton GO Centre and on the Milton line, which cuts through Mississauga to Toronto’s downtown Union Station.

Metrolinx, the provincial agency responsible for GO Transit, has said about 7,500 customers use the Milton line daily and 600 rail customers use Hamilton GO Centre.

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12:16 a.m.: Canadian Pacific Kansas City issues statement calling for the union to accept its offer to resolve the labour dispute with binding arbitration.

The company says it does not believe a negotiated outcome is within reach.

The railway says binding arbitration would end the work stoppage and mitigate further harm and disruption to supply chains and the economy.

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12:01 a.m.: Both companies lock out workers bringing rail traffic at Canada’s two largest railways to a halt.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX:CP)

The Canadian Press