The lockout at Vancouver’s five major grain terminals is beginning to
make the Canadian Wheat Board nervous.
So far the four-week-long shutdown at the port has had little impact on
sales or shipments, as grain has been diverted north up the British
Columbia coast to Prince Rupert.
The Prince Rupert Grain Ltd. terminal has been able to handle the
limited volumes shipped during the past month, but the board said last
week that situation is about to change.
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“We have some concerns about the post-harvest period, especially as the
volume of non-board shipments starts to increase,” said CWB
spokesperson Louise Waldman.
While the PRG terminal is efficient, its capacity is limited because it
has only one vessel loading berth.
Even without taking the non-board grains into account, the PRG terminal
would be incapable of handling the board’s post-harvest export program,
said Waldman.
In a letter sent to CWB minister Ralph Goodale Sept. 23, the board’s
chief executive officer Greg Arason asked the government to “do
whatever is necessary” to ensure that terminal operations at the
Vancouver return to normal as soon as possible.
Waldman said the board wants the port shutdown to be a priority for the
government after a new parliamentary session begins Sept. 30.
A spokesperson for Goodale said the board’s letter will be passed on
to the minister of labour, who would initiate any government action.
Previous lockouts or strikes that disrupted grain movement have
triggered loud protests from farm groups and calls for government
intervention to get grain moving again.
That hasn’t happened this time, as the small crop and limited export
program has meant the lockout has had little impact at the farmgate.
“Our members have not noticed any major tie-up in grain movement in the
country at this point,” said Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association
president Art Enns.
National Farmers Union vice-president Fred Tait said the lockout
hasn’t really registered with producers, most of whom are busy with
harvest anyway.
“Other times when we’ve had this kind of blockage, the reaction in the
coffee shops from farmers was almost ferocious,” he said. “I just don’t
hear it this time.”
The Vancouver terminals have been closed since Aug. 25, when the B.C.
Terminal Operators Association locked out 657 members of the
Grainworkers Union. The two sides have been without a contract since
Dec. 31, 2000 and this summer both rejected a June 30, 2002 report by
conciliator Vince Ready.
No negotiations have taken place since the lockout and none had been
scheduled as of Sept. 23.
The union attempted to shut down operations at Prince Rupert by setting
up picket lines there Sept. 10, but PRG Ltd. obtained a court
injunction banning picketing.
The union is appealing that decision and is also seeking to have the
injunction dissolved in the meantime. It has also asked the Canada
Industrial Relations Board to rule that PRG Ltd. and the BCTEOA are
“common employers” and should not be allowed to divert grain to Prince
Rupert to escape the financial consequences of the Vancouver lockout.
PRG is owned by the same grain companies that operate the Vancouver
terminals: Agricore United, Cargill Ltd., Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and
James Richardson International.
