The three-day strike planned for Monday by dockworkers at the port of Montreal could cause major economic impacts if it were to continue.
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A 72-hour walkout is planned for the start of the week and could affect 40% of the containers located at the terminals, which worries the director of transport, infrastructure and construction of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Pascal Chan.
“Our members are always concerned by any disruption at the terminals, but also especially by the risks presented by a strike mandate,” he explains in an interview with LCN.
“Although this notice has a limited duration, it is very difficult for companies to plan when they doubt the stability in the supply chain,” he adds.
The latter wants a resolution as quickly as possible in order to avoid further uncertainty for the country’s economy.
“The desired outcome of all is a negotiated resolution, and we encourage the Minister to continue to engage with stakeholders to ensure that they remain at the table and reach an agreement that avoids another interruption of work.”
“The Port of Montreal is the largest container port in Eastern Canada,” he adds. It is an important engine for the Canadian economy.”
A complete paralysis of the port of Montreal, even for just one week, could have an impact of tens of millions of dollars on the country’s GDP.
“Transport Canada, in 2021, carried out an analysis of the impacts of a complete closure of the Port of Montreal, and the net impact on GDP could be $40 million the first week and it would quickly increase thereafter to $100 million. per week,” says Mr. Chan.
“It’s very serious,” says the director of transport, infrastructure and construction. It should absolutely be avoided.”
With the supply chain already grappling with disruptions linked to forest fires, floods and other labor conflicts, the walkout of longshoremen at the Port of Montreal is of great concern to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
“It’s extremely complicated for Canadian businesses at the moment,” says Mr. Chan. If we want Canada to be competitive in the global economy, we must at least show that we have stability in the commercial environment.”
“Our international partners must have confidence that Canada can, in a very literal sense, deliver the goods,” he continues. Unfortunately, what we demonstrate time and time again is that Canada is not a reliable partner. We are compromising contracts for Canadian companies and putting jobs at risk.”
Watch the full interview in the video above
