Worried CWB asks Ottawa to end lockout

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Published: September 26, 2002

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.

About the author

Adrian Ewins

Saskatoon newsroom

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