B.C.’s federal cabinet ministers saw it.
The province’s economy would be headed for disaster should the Liberal government push through the grain exclusion amendments to the federal labour code.
Our federal agents even told the labour minister that in a letter last spring.
Herb Dhaliwal, Raymond Chan, Hedy Fry and David Anderson argued that the clause in Bill C-19 compelling dock workers to keep moving grain during a work stoppage could prolong strikes or lockouts at West Coast ports.
Grain shouldn’t be treated any differently than other commodities whose producers, like the Prairie farmers, also suffer when labor stoppages shut our ports.
That’s what they said.
Did Ottawa listen? Did it care?
Not even.
Saskatchewan’s cabinet heavyweight – Natural Resources Minister Ralph Goodale – wanted to ensure that farmers weren’t held hostage to labour disputes.
The government wanted to ensure it didn’t have to repeat what it had done 10 times in the previous 25 years – legislate the longshoremen back to work.
Companies and the unions representing Western Canada’s agri-service and grain handling sectors liked the idea of singling out grain for special protection.
The Business Council of B.C. did not.
“It is unreasonable and unacceptable that Prairie grain shipments will have access to B.C. ports during a strike or lockout while B.C.-based exports will not,“ it argued.
Furthermore: What incentive is there for dock workers to settle if, on top of strike pay, they’re getting paid to load grain? And where does that leave other hard-working producers and processors, say of alfalfa? Oilseeds? Who will go to bat for them?
And the small B.C. retailer who counts on stocked shelves at Christmas to boost her profit margin?
The B.C. port lockout that began last Sunday is costing the Canadian economy an estimated $90 million a day – that’s more than $500 million so far.
And that doesn’t account for the long-term loss of business as B.C.’s rep for reliability crumples.
The Financial Post’s observation still applies today: “If a case can be made for keeping certain commodities moving, surely it’s logical to extend the privilege to all – to forest products, coal, sulphur, potash, iron ore and petrochemicals. This would, in effect, end the collective bargaining process, with all port work considered essential and in the national interest. What this shows is while the government’s move on grain may be well intended, it’s misguided.
“It’s unfair. It’s poor public policy.“
