Chemical Producers Call on Minister of Labour to Act Quickly

OTTAWA - The Canadian manufacturing sector can ill afford yet another strike and work stoppages from CN workers, especially in this fragile economic recovery. Manufacturers, including chemical producers, rely heavily on rail transportation to receive raw materials and to ship manufactured chemical products to ports and customers. Work stoppages or even delays will have an immediate and severe impact on production, output and bottom lines.

"This is the second strike by CN workers in three years," said Richard Paton, President of the Canadian Chemical Producers' Association. "Rail is an essential service in Canada: we're calling on the Minister of Labour to act quickly to avoid action which would threaten Canada's economic recovery and further deteriorate the situation for Canadian manufacturers," he added.

Many companies in the chemistry industry depend on rail service for the movement of almost 70% of the volume of their goods. While the economic downturn has been particularly acute for Canadian manufacturers, signs of recovery were slowly beginning to show. This strike by 1,700 rail engineers might well threaten this recovery. Rail stoppages have an immediate negative impact on supply flows, but also force manufacturers to scale down production and lay off workers. Getting production back to existing levels can sometimes take weeks.

Quick action by the Minister of Labour is needed to ensure that the Canadian economy can continue to benefit from reliable rail service.

The Canadian Chemical Producers' Association represents 50 member-companies and Responsible Care(R) Partners with more than 200 basic chemical and resin manufacturing sites across Canada, accounting for the majority of basic chemical and resin manufacturing operations in Canada. Together, these companies generate revenues of more than $26 billion annually.