Widespread fuel shortages hit Winnipeg-area Co-op gas stations amid Sask. labour dispute

(Jamie Dowsett/CTV News)

WINNIPEG — There's no gas available at some Red River Co-op gas bars in Winnipeg and surrounding areas due to a labour dispute at the Co-op refinery in Regina, Sask.

Red River Co-op confirmed to CTV News that the gas company is experiencing widespread fuel shortages at its 35 gas bars across Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.

Co-op said some locations may still be serving gas.

CTV News previously reported that a sign on the pumps at the Brookside Boulevard Co-op in Winnipeg said that gas was temporarily unavailable Wednesday, directing drivers to stations with a fuel supply.

The company said the shortage is a result of the blockades set up by Unifor members in Regina.

For the past nine weeks, Unifor members have been demonstrating in Regina as a part of a job action against the Federated Co-op Ltd. (FCL), after employees were locked out amid a labour dispute.

"It’s an active situation," Kelly Romas, Red River Cooperative's director of marketing told CTV News in a written statement.

"Red River Co-op is currently asking our members to reach out to their favorite locations for live updates, as it changes as trucks arrive on site."

Romas said Red River Co-op is one of 170 Co-ops across Western Canada that buys services and goods from FCL.

Romas said there is plenty of fuel available, but with the blockades, Red River Co-op is unable to get to it.

CO-OP IMPOSES LIMIT ON CARD LOCKS

Also on Wednesday, Co-op announced it would limit cardlocks in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, only allowing people to fill up to 300 litres of diesel per card and 100 litres of gasoline.

Bobby Young, president of Den-Lyn Trucking in Vista, Man., said this limit practically brings his business to a complete stop.

"Three-hundred litres a day – my business doesn’t run," Young told CTV News, adding he only uses Co-op. "If I can't put fuel in my truck, I can't make a delivery. There goes my business, there's 20 years of hard work down the drain."

Young said Den-Lyn Trucking uses Co-op card locks and spends around $189,000 per year on Co-op fuel with its fleet of three trucks. Young said he has had to give two cards to one driver to get them through a 24-hour period.

To get by for the other trucks, Young said he has to use a credit card, which he fears will cost him interest fees if he can't pay it off quickly.

He said in the long run, he will probably have to look for another fuel provider.

Young is not alone. Paul Lacroix, owner of Paulcat's Transport Service, said the limit is a huge inconvenience for truckers who require 600 to 800 litres of fuel most days.

He said other cardlock companies such Petro Canada do not have the same capacity as Co-op, and many truckers don’t have a Petro Canada card.

"This restriction is terrible news for an already struggling industry," Lacroix told CTV News in a written statement.

-with files from CTV's Josh Crabb and Devon McKendrick