Labour minister to meet with rail companies, union as deadline to avoid massive shutdown looms

Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon will meet with representatives of Canada's two main rail companies and unions as the deadline to avoid an unprecedented service shutdown approaches.

Both the Canadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City remain at loggerheads with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union. The union has been demanding better wages and benefits — including better crew scheduling — for workers.

On Sunday, CN formally notified the union that it would start locking out union workers early on Thursday. CPKC already has told the Teamsters it will start locking out members early on Thursday. Separately, the union also issued a 72-hour strike notice to CPKC late on Sunday.

Without a last-minute agreement or binding arbitration, the bulk of Canada's freight rail traffic could grind to a halt this week.

«Minister MacKinnon will be in Montreal tomorrow and Calgary on Wednesday to meet with the parties and federal mediators and urge CN Rail, CPKC and Teamsters to fulfil their responsibility to Canadians, reach agreements at the bargaining table, and prevent a full work stoppage,» a statement from MacKinnon's office said.

Earlier Monday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party would oppose any government intervention in the ongoing labour dispute.

«I want to send a clear message to Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. We will oppose any attempt of the federal government to intervene on behalf of the employer against the workers in which should be a negotiated agreement between workers and the employer for good wages and safe working conditions,» he told reporters in Halifax.

«For too long we have seen Liberals and Conservatives interfere in these types of labour disputes to the advantage of the employer, to the