Devin Dreeshen, Alberta’s Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, says it would be a cause for concern across the country if our railway were to have to stop work.

Negotiations between Canada’s Class 1 railroads – Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (CPKC) and Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) – and the Teamsters Union have stalled, with a stoppage currently scheduled to occur early in the day on Thursday, August 22 (12:01 a.m. ET).

If the strike goes ahead, Dreeshen estimates that three to five days will have to be made up for every day off, in addition to the reputational damage to the country’s supply chain.

Dreeshen also says both he and Alberta’s labour minister have written to their federal counterparts, while Prime Minister Danielle Smith has contacted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) continues to call on the government to ensure ports, railways and essential services remain fully operational at all times.

The federal government has rejected CN Rail’s request for binding arbitration at this time, but that could change in the event of a closure.