Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) led colleagues in a letter calling on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his cabinet to take action to prevent a Canadian Pacific railway strike. A strike is slated to begin on Wednesday, March 16, involving more than 3,000 locomotive engineers, conductors, trainpersons, and yardpersons. A strike would have significant market implications from agriculture to energy and exacerbate the Biden Administration’s supply chain crisis. Up to 15% of Canadian Pacific’s business is fertilizer shipping and the U.S. relies on the railway to move Alberta crude oil south to U.S. refineries.
“We are writing to express our concerns related to the potential Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) strike in Canada on the Canadian Pacific (CP) railroad, and the profound impact it will have on our states and the broader US and Canadian economies,” wrote the letter. “[S]hutting down North America’s essential rail supply chain would create a freight capacity crisis… that will have a profound impact on our nation’s agriculture and energy industries.”
“We request you be proactive to avert any sort of disruption and prioritize the free-flow of goods and services between the US and Canada. However, if a labor dispute cannot be avoided, we urge the Canadian federal government and parliament to act swiftly to end the disruption quickly to avoid further harm to our respective economies,” continued the letter.
Senator Cramer is joined on the letter by Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Braun (R-IN), and John Hoeven (R-ND).