When weighed against war atrocity in Ukraine it's hard to focus on other international issues.  But the current Canadian Pacific Railway worker lockout may have many North Dakota producers scrambling to reroute their import/export transportation needs.

Talks broke down on Sunday and labor union Teamsters Canada Rail Conference(TCRC) claimed Canadian Pacific had initiated the lockout.

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Representatives from Canadian Pacific (CP) said they were at the table Sunday night with a federal mediator and it was in fact the union that initiated the shutdown.

Locomotive Engineers Rally Against Un-Manned Trains
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Needless to say, they should all get back to the table and figure this out.

In late January 2022 Burlington Northern Santa Fe workers in North Dakota had threatened to strike.  The U.S. Government stepped in and explained how a railway strike is against federal law. Canada is now facing a similar situation.

CP issued this statement...

As a result of the TCRC's action, CP is executing a safe and structured shutdown of its train operations across Canada and will work closely with customers to wind-down Canadian operations

There's much on the line for North Dakota that receives tons of potash fertilizer by rail from our northern neighbors. Much of that was already in place as planting season is just weeks away.

Even upon writing this story I was alerted to an update from Canadian Pacific.

“CP is pleased to have reached agreement with the TCRC Negotiating Committee to enter into binding arbitration and end this work stoppage,” said CP President and CEO Keith Creel. “This agreement enables us to return to work effective noon Tuesday local time to resume our essential services for our customers and the North American supply chain.”
CP wishes to thank the Canadian Federal Conciliation and Mediation Services for its critical work during this negotiation.
CP will immediately begin working with customers to resume normal train operations across Canada as soon as possible.
TCRC represents approximately 3,000 locomotive engineers, conductors, train and yard workers across Canada.
So this report of an impactful railway strike has turned into announcing an agreement between the two sides! Good news for all involved.  Or so it would seem.  The announcement is followed by two paragraphs stating that the release may contain "forward-looking information".

Forward-looking information is based on current expectations, estimates and projections and it is possible that predictions, forecasts, projections, and other forms of forward-looking information will not be achieved by CP. Except as required by law, CP undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

It may not be true after we wrote it?

So this could just be a forward-thinking approach to blame the union when things begin to break up again.  Blame placing is the worst aspect of any labor dispute.

Good luck Canada!


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