TORONTO, Aug. 19,
2024 /CNW/ - 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
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.
SOURCE Canadian Federation of Independent Business