Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Mayor Herb Pond outlines impact of Port dispute on Prince Rupert

Picket lines have. been up at the Scott Road Gate and all other entrances
to marine terminals in Prince Rupert since Saturday


As the negotiations were taking place in Vancouver over the weekend, some of the spotlight towards the BC Port dispute for the media turned to the impact on communities that host port facilities.

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond
found some national attention 
this week as port workers 
launched their labour action
And one of the go to officials for the national media was Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond, who provided a fairly extensive snapshot for the Canadian Press towards how much importance the port and the jobs that the workers have from it means to the community.

The report distributed across Canada opened with a bit of a history lesson, with Mr. Pond recounting the birth of the Container Port and how it revitalized the economy  that amidst the collapse of Watson Island and the declining employment from the fishery.

He also puts some focus on the scope of how the Port has become a dominant part of the community noting how there isn't anyone in town that doesn't know someone that is impacted by the labour dispute.

The Mayor also observed of the expansive plans that the PRPA have for the footprint of the Port facilities and the investments of the various terminal partners and CNR towards that blue print.

The article concludes with Mr. Pond noting that if the strike continues for a length of time that it will be hard not only on the workers and their families, as well as the community and the Canadian economy.

You can review the full overview from the Prince Rupert Mayor as part of this story.

More notes related to the dispute can be explored through our archive.  

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Port talks break off, all eyes on Federal Government for next move ...


Today marks Day 4 of the BC Ports Labour Dispute, with members of ILWU having shut down ports up and down the coast of the province, including facilities in Prince Rupert.

Prince Rupert port workers, like members around the province, walked off the job at 8 AM on Canada Day, setting up picket lines at all entrances to marine terminal locations in the city.

The weekend was one of talks on Saturday, a break on Sunday and an impasse on Monday; with the employer, BCMEA declaring that there is a need for the ILWU to change its course for negotiations to resume, the management side advising they had 'gone as far as possible on core issues.'

click to enlarge

For the union side of the labour dispute, the 'lack of meaningful engagement on substantive issues' has framed the last few months and days since the strike action bean as to how they see the current situation.

click to enlarge

With the talks at an impasse, pressure is building on the Federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan to find a way to get negotiations back on track, along with the ports to reopen.  

That as business and industry warn of damage to the Canadian and North American economy and a supply chain situation that is already a challenge, now becoming something much more dire.

So far, the Federal government has only issued one statement towards the negotiations; that was prior to the dispute noting that the only solution is that found at the bargaining table.

The Labour Minister has remained in Vancouver through the weekend as the talks took place and then suspended, O'Regan did not comment towards the current impasse through to Monday.


With Parliament now on summer hiatus, any back to work legislation, if that becomes the route taken, would require the recall of the House of Commons.

For updated notes on the current situation  and what may be ahead follow our archive page here. 

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Monday, July 3, 2023

Victoria Viewpoints: July 2023

 



Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Provincial scene for the Month of  July 2023.

This page is updated on Mondays, Wednesday's and Friday evenings.

*** Note: We are taking a break from our blogging, with a return anticipated by mid August ***


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Ottawa Observations: July Archive

 



Our archive of items from our Ottawa Observations, tracking the major developments from the nation's capital for the month of July 2023. 

This page is updated on Mondays, Wednesday's and Friday evenings.

*** Note: We are taking a break from our blogging, with a return anticipated by mid August ***











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Victoria Viewpoints: Saturday-Monday, July 1-3, 2023




Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Provincial scene for  Saturday-Monday,  July 1-3, 2023

British Columbia Port Workers Strike



BC Wildfires




Globe and Mail



CBC



Vancouver Sun 



Victoria Times-Colonist 




Victoria News



Global


The Tyee                                       
CHEK TV




Miscellaneous



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Ottawa Observations: Saturday-Monday, July 1-3, 2023



Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Federal scene for  Saturday-Monday, July 1-3,  2023





CBC



Toronto/Vancouver Star






Global          





Miscellaneous            



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Saturday, July 1, 2023

Activity at DP World Farview and many other terminals comes to a stop, as ILWU members take strike action

 

See updates on the status of labour negotiations at BC Ports from our update page here

The Ports of British Columbia are all but ghost towns and it has nothing to do with the Canada Day holiday, but rather, comes with the members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union members making good on their Strike Notice this morning.

Activity on the waterfront along the BC coast came to stop at 8AM as the more than 7,000 members took to their picket lines. 

A move which as our video above shows, left the DP World Terminal quiet, the cacophony of noise of a working port, instead features near silence and the Giant Cranes that now introduce Prince Rupert to the world remain fixed in their resting position.

For Prince Rupert, the two most prominent locations for the lines were at Scott Road and the road adjacent the Rail line into the DP World Facility. 

Facilities on Ridley Island are also subject to the labour stoppage with the exception of Prince Rupert Grain, that through a previous arrangement, the same will be the case for Cruise Ship Terminals in the province.

Members of ILWU 505 and their supporters at the picket line on the
Scott Road approach to the DP World Terminal on Saturday
(click on image to enlarge)

Shortly after the workers walked off the job, the BC Marine Employers Association which represents Port Terminal operators along the BC Coast issued a brief statement towards the labour dispute.

click to enlarge

There is no official statement from the ILWU posted to their website as of yet, however on an unofficial  Social Media Stream a message to the membership from ILWU President Rob Ashton has been posted.


click to enlarge

As we noted yesterday, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach offered his support to the ILWU membership with a statement on Friday, 

That statement was one of a number of letters of solidarity that the ILWU posted to their website on Friday evening as the deadline to the strike call began to tick down.


The strike action of this morning came following a vote in mid-June that gave the ILWU negotiators a 99% plus mandate to take job action if required.

There has been no statement from the Federal Government yet in this first day of the Port labour stoppage, though as the BCMEA statement observed, Federal mediators stand ready to assist in the negotiations should the two sides look to resume them.

Follow the following links for any updates from the two parties:

BCMEA

ILWU

More notes on Labour themes in Prince Rupert can be reviewed here.


Cross posted from the North Coast Review.

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