Canada: Port strike affects container shipments

A strike at Canada’s west coast ports is not affecting bulk grain movement but is impacting containerized agricultural commodities.

About 7,500 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) went on strike July 1 at the Port of Vancouver and Port of Prince Rupert.

Clause 87.7 of the Canada Labour Code states longshore workers must continue to provide the services they normally provide to “ensure the tie-up, let-go and loading of grain vessels at licensed terminal and transfer elevators, and the movement of the grain vessels in and out of a port.”

But the clause mentions nothing about container movement at container facilities.

It explains why groups like Grain Growers of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the Wheat Growers Association have been silent about the strike, while groups whose members depend on containerized movement are speaking out.

The Canadian Pork Council and the Canadian Meat Council are calling on the federal minister of transport to provide perishable agricultural products with the same protection bulk grain receives.

“We believe a precedent already established for wheat is available to our agricultural industries,” Canadian Pork Council chair Rene Roy said in a news release.

He said the strike will cause millions of dollars in losses as processing plants face closures.

“If our products go unsold, they will create an environmental disposal challenge and lead to enormous waste and environmental damage needlessly,” said Roy.

Fertilizer Canada is also calling on Ottawa to take immediate action to end the strike by enacting back-to-work legislation.

Canada exports 95 percent of the potash it produces, with the bulk of that flowing through the Port of Vancouver.

“Potash is essential to global food security, and we are concerned the strike will jeopardize the delivery of our product to farmers around the world who need it to grow hearty, nutritious crops,” Fertilizer Canada president Karen Proud said in a press release.

“The fertilizer industry depends on reliable supply chains to get our products to farmers. This strike is one of many disruptions we have seen and underscores the importance of strengthening Canada’s supply chains.”

Potash exports contribute $5.52 billion to Canada’s annual gross domestic product.

Pulse Canada did not issue a news release.

Stat Publishing noted that peas and lentils are generally shipped bulk through Canada’s west coast ports and by container through the east coast ports.

The B.C. Maritime Employers Association said the median salary of an ILWU longshore worker in B.C. in 2022 was $136,000 per year, plus benefits and pension. Over the past 13 years, longshore wages have risen by 40 percent.

The ILWU says the employer is running a “smear campaign” exaggerating the amount dock workers earn and ignoring the years of sacrifice and hard work it takes to make a good living in the industry.

“They figure if they can ruin their own employees’ reputations, it’ll pave the way for back-to-work legislation without having to dip into their massive post-pandemic profits to give their workers a little more,” ILWU president Rob Ashton said in a news release.

Tags: Grain Growers of Canada, Canada, Canadian Federation of Agriculture, vessels, Wheat Growers Association, ports, Pulse Canada, potash, agricultural commodities, bulk, strike, Fertilizer Canada, Canadian Pork Council, exports, Canadian Meat Council, grain