OTTAWA –The Canadian government ordered an end to the national railroad work stoppage by the managements of both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City. Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon ordered mandatory arbitration: “It is my duty and responsibility to invoke my authorities under the Canada Labour Code to secure industrial peace and deliver the short and long-term solutions that are in the national interest.” The railroads had ordered the shutdown a day earlier. They claimed a shutdown was better now than waiting for a Teamsters strike in the upcoming peak fall shipping season. The Teamsters union said, however, it would maintain picket lines while it reviews MacKinnon’s arbitration order.
