Toronto, August 19, 2024 - The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling on all parties to reach an immediate agreement to prevent a work stoppage at Canada’s major railway companies, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (CPKC) and Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) currently scheduled at 00:01 ET Thursday, August 22.
Any disruptions to railway operations could be devastating for small businesses, their employees and communities. Many small businesses rely on rail services to send and receive goods, products and essential materials. The longer the work stoppage goes on, the costlier it becomes for small firms who may lose sales and contracts if goods are not delivered or received on time.
These shutdowns will also disrupt public transit and commuting to big cities such as Toronto or Montreal and lead to increased business costs and supply chain disruptions.
Although the decision by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) prohibited the maintenance of certain activities during a work stoppage, politicians still have the power to change labour laws. CFIB continues to call on the government to make ports and rails an essential service, so they remain fully operational at all times.
- Jasmin Guenette, Vice-President, National Affairs, CFIB
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Dariya Baiguzhiyeva, CFIB
647-464-2814
public.affairs@cfib.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 97,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.
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