VOA News | Thursday, August 22, 2024 
Dispute stops Canadian freight railroads, could cause US disruption

TORONTO — Both of Canada’s major freight railroads have come to a full stop because of a contract dispute with their workers, an impasse that could bring significant economic harm to businesses and consumers in Canada and the U.S. if the trains don’t resume running soon. Canadian National and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the deadline of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Thursday passed without new agreements with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference that represents some 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers. All rail traffic in Canada and all shipments crossing the U.S. border have stopped, although CPKC and CN’s trains will continue to operate in the U.S. and Mexico. Billions of dollars of goods each month move between Canada and the U.S. via rail, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. “If rail traffic grinds to a halt, businesses and families across the country will feel the impact,” Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said in a statement. “Manufacturing workers, their communities and consumers of all sorts of products will be left reeling from supply chain disruptions.” There will be other impacts as well, including on the more than 30,000 commuters in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal who will be scrambling to find a new way into work because their trains won’t be able to operate over CPKC’s tracks while the railroad is shut down. Business groups had urged the government to …Read more