As clock ticks on rail shutdown, minister and mediators are joining talks

Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon is heading to Montreal on Tuesday and Calgary on Wednesday to meet with stakeholders as a railway strike and lockout loom across the country, a spokesperson from MacKinnon’s office told Global News on Tuesday.

Freight trains across Canada could come to a grinding halt as soon as Thursday with roughly 9,000 railway employees nearing a looming strike or lockout date.

“Minister MacKinnon will be in Montreal today and Calgary on Wednesday to meet with the parties and federal mediators and urge CN (Canadian National) Rail, CPKC (Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.) and Teamsters to fulfill their responsibility to Canadians, reach agreements at the bargaining table, and prevent a full work stoppage,” a spokesperson for MacKinnon said Tuesday.

The union representing thousands of workers at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. says it has served a 72-hour strike notice on the railway.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference issued a news release saying that unless the parties reach a last-minute agreement, workers will be off the job as of 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Thursday.

Not long after the union’s statement, CN Rail issued a notice that it intends to lock workers out at that same time unless an agreement or binding arbitration is achieved.

“CN must continue with the progressive and planned shutdown of its network, as we remain under the threat of an unpredictable strike notice. This planned shut down helps to ensure the safety of the communities in which we operate and the safety of our customers’ goods, and to optimize the network’s recovery following a labour disruption,” CN said in a statement Sunday.

Earlier this month, CPKC said in a statement that it would lock out workers on Aug. 22 as well. The railway