Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. cargo flow should be back to normal in days after port strike, says researcher

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Jul, 2023 12:17 PM
  • B.C. cargo flow should be back to normal in days after port strike, says researcher

A logistics researcher says it should take only days for cargo flow to return to pre-strike levels at B.C. ports after a 13-day work stoppage ended with a tentative deal.

But Simon Fraser University Prof. Peter V. Hall says the port employers need to work with the union on significant long-term "structural changes" such as training to deal with the onset of automation.

Hall says he hopes the tentative agreement between the B.C. Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada that was announced Thursday includes some sort of commitment towards that goal, since ports including Vancouver will face challenges on that front.

Port workers were back on the job Thursday afternoon, with the BCMEA saying more than 500 were being dispatched at Vancouver's inner harbour by 8 a.m. today.

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's operations dashboard this morning shows the Centerm, Vanterm, Deltaport and Fraser Surrey terminals all "operating normally," with truck waiting times for loading and unloading ranging from 20 minutes to one hour and 13 minutes.

The union, which represents 7,400 workers in the job action that began July 1, has not yet commented on the pact. 

The agreement, which the BCMEA says lasts four years, is subject to ratification by members of both the union and the maritime employers, and no additional details have been released.

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan said Thursday that the strike that had snarled trade worth billions was over and thanked both sides.

But he and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement that the extent of the disruption showed the importance of the relationship between industry and labour, and that Canada's "supply chains and our economy depend on it."

The tentative agreement to end the strike came after O'Regan ordered a mediator to issue terms for a settlement, saying the gap in the deadlocked talks was "not sufficient to justify a continued work stoppage."

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Multiple charges as 27-year-old accused in crash that killed two B.C. teens

Multiple charges as 27-year-old accused in crash that killed two B.C. teens
A statement from Metro Vancouver Transit Police says Cory Brown faces two counts of criminal negligence causing death, one count of driving while disqualified and one count of flight from police. He remains in custody and is expected to return to court on July 19.  

Multiple charges as 27-year-old accused in crash that killed two B.C. teens

Get another COVID-19 booster in the fall, Canada's immunization panel recommends

Get another COVID-19 booster in the fall, Canada's immunization panel recommends
NACI continues to strongly recommend that anyone five years of age and older who hasn't yet been vaccinated should be immunized with a primary two-dose series of an mRNA vaccine. It also has a "discretionary recommendation" that children six months to five years of age who haven't yet been vaccinated get the two-dose primary series of an mRNA vaccine.

Get another COVID-19 booster in the fall, Canada's immunization panel recommends

Southbound surges of U.S. agents causing delays, 'disarray' at Canada-U.S. border

Southbound surges of U.S. agents causing delays, 'disarray' at Canada-U.S. border
New York Democrat Rep. Brian Higgins says Customs and Border Protection personnel are being temporarily reassigned to help fortify the U.S. border with Mexico. Higgins says as a result, busy points of entry along the Canada-U.S. border are seeing longer delays and unstaffed kiosks. 

Southbound surges of U.S. agents causing delays, 'disarray' at Canada-U.S. border

NATO leaders agree to spend at least two per cent of their countries' GDP on defence

NATO leaders agree to spend at least two per cent of their countries' GDP on defence
A statement released this afternoon in Vilnius, Lithuania, says NATO members pledge to make two per cent of GDP the minimum spend each year, with one-fifth of that going to equipment.

NATO leaders agree to spend at least two per cent of their countries' GDP on defence

As pandemic business loan repayment deadline looms, calls for extending deadline grow

As pandemic business loan repayment deadline looms, calls for extending deadline grow
The Canada Emergency Business Account program provided about 900,000 small businesses and not-for-profits up to $60,000 in interest-free loans during the pandemic. The deadline to repay these loans was extended last year to December 31, 2023 to ease pressure on businesses still recovering from the pandemic. 

As pandemic business loan repayment deadline looms, calls for extending deadline grow

Surrey shooting victim identified as Pavanbar Paul Mannan

Surrey shooting victim identified as Pavanbar Paul Mannan
IHIT investigators are identifying the victim as 29-year old, Pavanbar Paul Mannan, of Surrey, in hopes of furthering their investigation. Surrey RCMP say in a statement Mannan was found in a white Ford Edge in the alleyway north of 96 Avenue and 130 Street around 5 p.m. on Sunday, and was later declared dead at a hospital.

Surrey shooting victim identified as Pavanbar Paul Mannan