Cargo companies start to reroute away from Montreal amid fears of port strike

MONTREAL — A major transport company has rerouted cargo away from the Port of Montreal over fears of a potential strike, prompting concerns that others may follow in its wake.

Delmar International, a Quebec-based logistics firm that counts 1,500 employees across 17 countries, said all Montreal-bound freight will now flow through the Port of Halifax in a pre-emptive move to curtail fallout from a looming possible job action.

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“While uncertainties persist at the Port of Montreal, Delmar International will reroute all East Coast Montreal-bound cargo via Halifax to limit any negative impact of a potential work stoppage until further notice,” the company told customers in a post last week.

Earlier this month, the Canada Industrial Relations Board dismissed a request from Montreal port employers to require employees to work during a strike, opening the gate to a possible job action or lockout after a six-month freeze while the ask was under consideration.

On Friday, the Maritime Employers Association followed up with a complaint to the labour board that called on it to rekindle talks due to a “bad faith” stance by the union, which it claims has refused to resume bargaining.

“The parties are at an impasse caused by the union’s refusal to negotiate,” the submission said in French.

“The association is contacting the CIRB to urgently obtain a hearing and remedies to force the union to comply with its obligations and thus allow the resumption of negotiations.”

The last meeting between the two sides took place on Jan. 16, according to the filing.

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Association spokeswoman Isabelle Pelletier said employers are “very worried” about the consequences of mounting fears that a strike will happen.

“We have strong signals that cargo will be rerouted because of the uncertainty at the Port of Montreal,” she said in an email.

The dockworkers’ union, which represents roughly 1,200 Montreal port workers affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, declined to comment. The collective agreement expired on Dec. 31.

Canada’s maritime supply chain has faced several labour disruptions over the past four years, on top of the backlogs and bottlenecks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last summer, a strike by 7,400 B.C. dockworkers dragged on for 13 days, shutting down the country’s biggest port and costing the economy billions of dollars.

In October, an eight-day strike by workers on the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway halted shipments of grain, iron ore and gasoline.

And in Montreal, longshore workers last went on strike in August 2020 in a 12-day job action that left 11,500 containers languishing on the waterfront.

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Mutual suspicion persists to this day after that strike, observers say.

Federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez pointed to an apparent “climate of mistrust” between the dockworkers and the Maritime Employers Association, which represents shippers and terminal operators.

Others echoed his concerns.

“It’s getting to be an acute situation,” said Julia Kuzeljevich, spokeswoman for the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association.

“There are great fears that they’ll do a 72-hour strike notice at any point,” she said. “Many people are choosing to divert cargo … It’s just a big question mark hanging over the situation.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2024.

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