Saskatchewan's agriculture and mining sectors prepare as rail shutdown looms

Agriculture and mining remain two of Saskatchewan's largest industries. Both are now cautiously watching as a rail shutdown set to begin on Thursday approaches.

"It'll be catastrophic. There's no other way to really say it," saidPam Schwann, president of the Saskatchewan Mining Association, on Tuesday.

Two of the country's largest rail companies theCanadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City remain locked in a dispute with theTeamsters Canada Rail Conference union. The union has demanded better wages and benefits such as better crew scheduling for workers.

The rail companies have issued lockout notices to their unionized workers, while the union has responded with strike warnings. The notices and warnings are set tokick in on Thursday morning, and would bringmany of the country's trains to a screeching halt.

WATCH |Sask.'s ag, mining industries watch with concern as rail shutdown approaches:

Sask.'s ag, mining industries watch with concern as rail shutdown approaches

1 month ago

Duration 1:54

Agriculture and mining remain two of Saskatchewan's largest industries. Both are now cautiously watching as a rail shutdown set to begin on Thursday approaches.

A billion-dollar industry

It's a dire situation for two industries that heavily rely on rail to ship their goods.

"Somewhere in the neighborhood of $18 billion worth of grain is exported out of Saskatchewan every year on rail, so it's huge," said Bill Prybylski, a vice-president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan.

Prybylskisaid the province's producers are heading into harvest and in the short term are reliant ongrain being moved in order to be paid.

He's heard from producers who are already contacting their banks and letting them know that there may be delays in payment.

Prybylski said it's hard for farmers to plan for a potential shutdown. Some have begun buying extra grain bins, but that could mean missing out on important commitments.

"A lot of producers depend on being able to ship some of the grain right off the combine because they don't have enough bin space to handle their whole harvest," said Prybylski.

Prybylski saidsome productis shipped to the northern states or into Albert,but for many producers its just not feasible to use anything but rail.

Lee Moats, a lentil farmer near Riceton, Sask., echoed these concerns.

"Ninety-seven per centof the lentils we grow has to find their way to places like India and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. So how do they get there? Well, they have to go by rail to tidewater," said Moats.

Prybylski said that in the long term, a rail shutdown could harm Canada's reputation as a reliable supplier of grain to countries around the world.

Mines implementing contingency plans

The province's mining industry is just as concerned about a potential rail shutdown. It's also an export-based industry.

Pam Schwann, president of the Saskatchewan Mining Association, said some companies are already implementing contingency plans in preparation for a rail stoppage.

The potash sector could be especially hard hit, she said.

"We are entirely reliant on rail. You can't move that by any other way. With having both CN and CP out of the same time, it means we have no options in terms of how we move our potash to market," Schwann said.

There's also a concern about potash, as it can't be left on the surface in rail cars, it must be stored properly.

Most mines have enough storage to house between four and seven days worth of potash, Schwann said.

Once a facility reaches its storage limit it will likely look to curtail production, which could mean temporarily halting operations and potentially even layoffs, Schwann said.

'Pushed these issues down the road'

One expert in labour politics said this rail dispute has been a long time coming.

"Workerfatigue and worker health and safety on the rail line have been one of the central issues in collective bargaining for well over a decade," said Charles Smith, an associate professor of political studies at the University of Saskatchewan.

He pointed to how back-to-work legislation has been used in previous years to end rail strikes or lockouts, including in 2012, 2015 and 2022.

"So in some ways we've pushed these issues down the road," Smith said.

Last week the provincial government called for the federal government to step in and ensure there would be no service disruption.

On Tuesday, the province repeated that demand in a statement by Agriculture Minister David Marit.

"While we understand and respect the right to fair labour practices and negotiations, we must also recognize the far-reaching consequences this work disruption would cause," Marit said.

"It is time for the federal government to step up and ensure this work stoppage does not occur. I urge all parties involved to work towardan immediate resolution, whether through back-to-work legislation or a directive for binding arbitration."