CANADIAN MANUFACTURERS & EXPORTERS URGES ALL PARTIES TO SUPPORT PORT OF MONTREAL BACK TO WORK LEGISLATION

Ottawa, April 27, 2021 – Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) commends Minister Tassi and the federal government for introducing legislation to end labour disruptions at the Port of Montreal. CME now urges all parties to support these measures and to ensure the bill’s swift passage. Canadian manufacturers are one of the largest users of the port and its shutdown due to the ongoing labour dispute is having severe impacts on the sector.

“Manufacturers, like all Canadian businesses, have been living through very difficult times over the past year. The last thing they needed is another labour disruption at one of Canada’s most important ports. We thank the government for taking action and legislating to end the strike, and we implore all parties to get this passed this as quickly as possible,” said Dennis Darby, President and CEO of CME.

In the absence of the two sides reaching agreement on their own, the federal government’s intervention was necessary. As the Canadian economy continues to struggle with the global pandemic, a prolonged general strike at the Port of Montreal not only threatens the economy but also the supply chains of manufacturers across the country.

“Manufacturers cannot afford this strike at the port. It is essential that this bill pass quickly so that activities at the Port can resume as quickly as possible,” concluded Darby.

Introduced earlier today, BILL C-29: An Act to provide for the resumption and continuation of operations at the Port of Montreal provides for the resumption and continuation of operations at the Port of Montreal and imposes mediation as the process for resolving matters remaining in dispute between the parties. It empowers the mediator-arbitrator to impose arbitration as the process for resolving matters that cannot be resolved through mediation.