Canada's Biggest Railroad to Shut Down Key Corridor Over Blockades
14 February 2020 - 12:59PM
Dow Jones News
By Kim Mackrael and Paul Vieira
OTTAWA -- Canadian National Railway Co. said Thursday it will
shut down operations in eastern Canada as blockades set up by
anti-pipeline activists threatened to upend the country's
manufacturing sector and slow the broader economy.
The Montreal-based company said the move may lead to temporary
layoffs of its workers in eastern Canada. Canadian National is the
country's biggest railroad and ships commodities and consumer goods
valued at more than 250 billion Canadian dollars annually (about
$190 billion). It has been unable to move trains through a key
transportation corridor connecting western Canada to the eastern
part of the country for more than a week.
Business groups and organized labor on Thursday called on the
Canadian government to intervene to stop the blockades, which
involve protesters acting in solidarity with west coast indigenous
leaders trying to stop construction of a natural-gas pipeline.
Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, a lobbying group, said the
roughly weeklong rail disruption has led to a sharp dwindling of
inventories among member companies. "It is really important that
the federal government get this resolved," said Dennis Darby,
president of the group. He added that roughly three-quarters of the
country's manufacturing activity is based in eastern Canada and
leans on Canadian National for shipments.
Meanwhile, Teamsters Canada warned the shutdown of Canadian
National's eastern network could lead to the layoff of as many as
6,000 of its members, most of whom work at the railroad. The union
also represents workers at passenger-rail operators and short-line
railroads who risk layoff because of the blockades.
"Our union -- and thousands of working families -- are in
crisis. This situation cannot go on forever," Teamsters Canada
President François Laporte said in a statement. "We urge Ottawa to
intervene to help find a solution as soon as possible," he
added.
Shortly after Canadian National's decision, the government-owned
passenger rail operator Via Rail Canada said it "had no other
option" but to cancel nearly all of its services until further
notice. Canadian National owns more than 80% of the rail tracks
used by Via Rail to carry passengers.
Canadian National said it has obtained court orders and
requested the assistance of law-enforcement agencies to remove
blockades in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia.
"While the illegal blockades have come to an end in Manitoba and
may be ending imminently in British Columbia, the orders of the
court in Ontario have yet to be enforced and continue to be
ignored," the railroad said.
Andrew Brant, one of the people involved in the blockade in
Ontario, said it began as an expression of solidarity with
indigenous leaders on the west coast but has expanded to include a
wider set of grievances regarding the government's treatment of
indigenous people. "We're going to stand our ground," Mr. Brant
said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said freedom of
expression is a democratic right but must respect the courts and
the law. He said his government would meet with indigenous leaders
on the west coast who oppose the pipeline.
A spokeswoman for Canada's transport minister, Marc Garneau,
didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Mr. Garneau said earlier this week that it was up to local
law-enforcement agencies to enforce the court orders.
Ontario's provincial police force didn't immediately respond to
a request for comment about Canadian National's decision. A
spokeswoman for the police force said earlier in the week that the
method and timing of enforcing the court order was up to the
police.
The country's other main railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway,
said Thursday its operations have been hurt by the blockades and it
would continue to monitor the situation closely. The bulk of
Canadian Pacific's network is west of Toronto, Canada's biggest
city, and about 120 miles west of the main blockade affecting
freight traffic in eastern Canada.
Canadian National's chief executive officer, Jean-Jacques Ruest,
said halting operations in eastern Canada is "the responsible
approach to take for the safety of our employees and the
protesters." He said the shutdown would continue until the
blockades end completely.
Anti-pipeline protests have escalated across Canada since last
week, when police began enforcing a separate court order to remove
people who were trying to prevent construction of the natural-gas
pipeline in northern British Columbia.
The Coastal GasLink pipeline is owned by TC Energy Corp. and is
intended to carry gas to the west coast for shipment to markets in
Asia. Protests have taken place in recent days outside the British
Columbia legislature, on the roads leading to the Port of
Vancouver, in downtown intersections and at three locations along
the railway.
Write to Kim Mackrael at kim.mackrael@wsj.com and Paul Vieira at
paul.vieira@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 13, 2020 20:44 ET (01:44 GMT)
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