LAVAL, Quebec, Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Appearing before the Senate last week, representatives from CN and CPKC argued for strike bans in the rail sector.
“Senior managers at CN and CPKC want the government to go even further than Bill C-39. They claim that even the threat of a strike hurts their bottom line, so they want Ottawa to order binding arbitration before workers can ever walk off the job,” said Paul Boucher, President of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.
“That would rob rail workers of their right to strike by making sure they can never use it.”
Stephanie McGuire, CN’s Assistant VP of Labour Relations, asked senators to amend C-39 so the government could force workers into binding arbitration before a strike even begins (see here, from 14:44:24). Her testimony echoed CPKC CEO Keith Creel, who made a similar pitch in an October 15 op-ed in The Globe and Mail.
Under questioning by senators, McGuire admitted that arbitration is “not going to address any of the union’s issues and none of the company’s issues.”
“Clearly, this was never about solving problems at the bargaining table. It’s about making sure workers have zero leverage. This is a coordinated attempt to strip CN and CPKC employees of their Charter rights. The government needs to see it for exactly what it is,” said Boucher.
François Laporte, National President of Teamsters Canada, added that “the right to strike is how working people won overtime pay, paid parental leave and basic labour standards. In rail, it has forced companies to adopt life-saving safety standards.”
“Parliament already has more than enough power to end a rail dispute. Now CN and CPKC want rail workers’ right to strike gone entirely. This is nothing but a crass, self-serving bid to deny workers their best tool for advancing rail safety and winning better pay,” concluded Laporte.
Teamsters Canada represents 130,000 workers across the country, including 16,000 rail workers.
Media requests:
Christopher Monette
Director of Public Affairs
Teamsters Canada
Cell: 514-226-6002
cmonette@teamsters.ca
