In the ongoing Saga of contract negotiation between CN Rail, CPKC, and the teamsters union, negotiations have ground to a halt.
And soon, so will the trains.
CN Rails Director of Public Affairs and Media Relations Johnathan Abecassis stated the teamster made a counteroffer over the weekend, but noted parties remain far apart.
In response, CN Rail has begun to enact a lockout of their railways, which will come in phases throughout the week.
"By Thursday morning at one past midnight, all products will be embargoed. CN will continue moving all goods currently on the network, but anything that isn't on the network yet will be refused. we will try and get as much of the existing product on our network off the network as quickly as possible."
Abecassis said that this lockout is an attempt to protect the goods on the rail and create a more logistically sound shutdown, rather than one conducted by the Teamster union, as they worry products could be left on the systems.
The shutdown is already underway, moving dangerous goods or time-sensitive goods to where they need to be.
But come Thursday at 12:01 am, the embargo will go into full effect, and nothing will move by rail.
Now the nation has to wait anxiously for these parties to return to the bargaining table with more shared ideas, lest we find out what an extended rail shutdown could do during the upcoming harvest season.
