The CFIB urged the federal government to “ensure all departments maintain full service to small businesses,” negotiate with an eye to getting a “long-term and affordable” collective agreement, and prepare back-to-work legislation if the strike lasts more than a few days.
“Farmers need to continue to deliver last year’s crop before spring seeding to run their businesses and purchase inputs for the 2023 crop,” Gunter Jochum, president of the Wheat Growers lobby, said in a press release. “A stoppage would be devastating to the industry, and ultimately to consumers.” Slower inspections of imports and exports at Canada’s ports likely would cause traffic jams, as vessels line up to load and unload. Grain growers are doubly vulnerable because federal law requires an inspector from the Grain Commission to sign off on shipments.Jochum used the strike to re-up Wheat Growers’ demand that the federal government loosen restrictions on grain inspections and allow private inspectors to do most of the work.
“With efficiencies paramount in any business, is it time for services be moving to a regulatory oversight model like the United States? While we recognize that would require a legislative change, until then we expect government to ensure that staff not in the PSAC union be available to pick up, bag and tag samples provided by a third party for grading, thereby ensuring vessel loading and movement impacts are minimized because of the strike,” the press release said.
Cue the hysteria on day 1. Its a simple fix, let workers keep up with inflation.