Trudeau convenes incident response group after B.C. port union issues renewed strike notice

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan is under renewed pressure to bring an end to a revived strike by port workers in British Columbia, now that the workers' union has given notice of plans to return to the picket lines this weekend after being told their latest job action was "unlawful."

What appeared to be a victory for the federal government—the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruling the resumption of the strike on Tuesday was against Canadian labour laws—was short-lived on Wednesday.

Now, business groups are calling on O'Regan to press ahead with back-to-work legislation to limit the further economic impacts of halted cargo piling up at busy Canadian ports.

Facing the prospect of a further prolonged work stoppage, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened the federal Incident Response Group "to discuss the situation in British Columbia's ports," on Wednesday afternoon.

This high-level dedicated panel of cabinet ministers and senior officials is the federal government's dedicated emergency committee that meets in the event of national crises or events that have major implications for the country. 

The group is "responsible for coordinating a prompt federal response to an incident, and making fast, effective decisions," and has previously been convened to address the COVID-19 pandemic response, the "Freedom Convoy" protests, and Russia's invasion in Ukraine.

The Prime Minister's Office said the group was briefed on the latest developments and discussed the "severe disruptions" the strike is causing to the country's exports and imports, as well as Canada's international trade reputation.

"The prime minister stressed the critical importance of resuming operations in our ports as soon as possible," read the readout from his office issued after the meeting. "He asked ministers and senior officials their advice toward achieving this goal and directed them to pursue all available options to ensure the stability of our supply chains and to protect Canadian jobs and our economy."

WHAT HAPPENED TO 'ILLEGAL'?

In a ruling on Wednesday responding to an application made by the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) against the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), seeking a declaration of an unlawful strike, the labour board ruled in the employers' favour.

Finding that because the union did not give the requisite 72-hour notice of the strike action before B.C. port workers returned to the picket lines on Tuesday after six days back on the job, the labour board ordered strikers to "cease and desist from participating in strike activities" until it met a series of Canada Labour Code requirements.

"This strike is illegal," O'Regan tweeted, alongside a copy of the ruling.

While the union did move to take down picket lines at the Port of Vancouver on Wednesday, within a few hours of the labour ruling, BCMEA confirmed Wednesday that it had received a new 72-hour strike notice from ILWU, signalling plans to resume on cross-province picketing at 9 a.m. PST on Saturday.

The labour board's ruling noted that the union's position was that it did not need to provide notice to resume striking, since the labour action was ongoing.

ILWU Canada President Rob Aston said in a statement that their strike is just a continuance of the legal strike position since July 1 and that workers "suspended picketing at the request of the minister of labour" while the ILWU considered the mediator-suggested collective agreement settlement terms. The union plans to appeal the labour board's decision. 

In a statement, the employer accused the union of "doubling down on holding the Canadian economy hostage."

"In an affordability crisis, Canadians and those that rely on our goods and exports cannot afford to wait any longer," said the employers' association.

WHY DID STRIKE RESUME?

Striking picked back up on Tuesday after the union's leadership rejected a federal mediator's settlement that brought an initial end to what had been a 13-day work stoppage with a proposed four-year agreement including wage hikes and improved benefits.

The tentative deal— ratified by the employer on July 13— was reached after the federal labour minister intervened in the dispute that has stopped an estimated $10 billion worth of goods from moving through West Coast ports this month.

The ILWU has said the four-year term of the collective agreement was "far too long" and that cost of living demands for the 7,400 workers across 30 port terminals and other sites were not met. 

"Clearly this fair and equitable package wasn’t enough for the ILWU internal leadership, and they chose to instead remain entrenched in their position with little regard to the lives and jobs they are impacting," said the BCMEA Tuesday.

TIME FOR BACK-TO-WORK BILL?

Prior to the latest chain of events, O'Regan and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said they were looking at all options to bring the strike to an end.

"We should not be here. The deal presented to the parties was the result of a constructive and substantive collective bargaining process. It represented a fair and balanced deal," said the ministers in the joint statement. "We have been patient. We have respected the collective bargaining process. But we need our ports operating."

While other mechanisms could be leveraged to order workers back on the job, one option would be to recall the House of Commons from its summer adjournment to pass back-to-work legislation. It's a move business groups are advocating for.

In an interview on CTV News Channel, Canadian Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Perrin Beatty said the Canadian public and economy is being "held ransom" and advocated for further federal intervention to get goods moving again before further supply chain shortages are felt.

"At the end of the day, what the government needs to do is put the public interest ahead of everything else. This is damaging communities right across the country. It's driving up costs for individual Canadians, and it's damaging businesses," Beatty said.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses' national affairs vice president Jasmin Guenette, said port activity needs to resume "rapidly."

"That's why it's important for the federal government to step in and introduce back-to-work legislation," Guenette said.

In a statement, the Vancouver Board of Trade's president and CEO Bridgitte Anderson decried the "level of uncertainty and, frankly, chaos taking place at our west coast ports."

"This has gone on too long, and a solution must be found," Anderson said. "We are once again renewing our call to the federal government and all elected representatives to utilize all their available tools to find a lasting resolution and to identify measures that ensure the future stability of our ports and supply chains."

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he's hearing from major retailers that they will soon be running out of certain items.

"So we need to get the goods to market as quickly as possible," Ford said. "Hopefully they can put this to bed today."

B.C. Premier David Eby called Wednesday's developments "profoundly disappointing."

"To see that we're back where we were before... I can't help but feel that whatever is separating the parties is not worth this disruption." Though, Eby said federal back-to-work legislation may not be the fastest option.

"A short and immediate-term solution is not federal legislation and counting on the minority parliament in Ottawa to step in. The parties need to accept the responsibility that they have on both sides to come to the table in good faith and solve this for Canadians quickly," the premier said at a press conference. 

HOW WOULD HOUSE RECALL WORK?

Should Parliament be recalled, the government would first make a written request to the speaker of the House of Commons outlining why it would be in the "public interest" to call back MPs.

If the speaker agrees, typically 48 hours’ notice is given to MPs, but given the pressing economic pressures and utility of the hybrid sitting model, it's possible that the timeframe between requesting a recall and seeing it happen, could be lessened. 

Should the House of Commons resume to pass back-to-work legislation—followed by the Senate— the Liberals would have to look beyond their confidence-and-supply agreement partners the NDP for support.

"We encourage the government to not interfere with this beyond encouraging the parties to negotiate a fair deal. Don't signal in any way that you're going to bring in back-to-work legislation because that's going to undermine the workers," NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters in Windsor, Ont. on Wednesday.

"This is a fight for all workers… These are not companies that are struggling in any way. They're making massive profits and the workers are saying we just want to be able to put food on the table, and ensure that we have the ability to keep our homes, and that we have jobs and guaranteed to keep our jobs for the future... Those are reasonable demands."

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the entire situation is a display of "colossal incompetence" by O'Regan. "He claimed he’d gotten a deal to end the strike, and now it’s back on with massive costs to consumers, workers and businesses," he tweeted on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, Poilievre called for the Liberals to present a plan to within the next 24 hours to end the strike. 

"Our largest federal port... is now in shambles with on-again, off-again federal strikes. The federal port workers can’t afford homes, businesses can’t move goods, and consumers pay more. End this now," Poilievre said. 

With files from CTV News' Spencer Van Dyk, CTV News Vancouver and The Canadian Press