Singh urges Liberals to stay out of rail dispute as deadline to avoid massive shutdown looms

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party would oppose any government intervention in the ongoing labour dispute between 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 has told the Teamsters union already 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 could grind to a halt this week.

Singh, whose caucus supports the minority Liberal government through a confidence-and-supply agreement, reiterated the NDP's long-held opposition to government intervention in labour disputes on Monday.

«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 detriment of the worker. That is wrong and we will oppose that.»

So far, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has seemed resistant to interfering. Last week he rejected a request from CN for binding