Leo Ryan

Leo Ryan


Deadlocked labor negotiations confront three Canadian container ports

Potential waterfront labor stoppages at Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Montreal are once more on the radar screen. Federal mediators have been brought in to help avert a repeat of the strike actions by unionized dockers against maritime employers at Canada’s three biggest container ports that severely hit supply chains in the past few years.

Jan 31, 2024View Full Blog

Canada’s proposed “Anti-Scab” legislation stirs controversy

The long-anticipated initiative late last week drew rapid approval from labour union circles but sharp criticism from industry groups ranging from small business to manufacturers and grain exporters.

Nov 17, 2023View Full Blog

Strike by Canadian Seaway workers shuts down binational waterway

Some 361 workers in Ontario and Quebec began a strike on Sunday at 00.01 am after negotiations failed to meet a union-imposed deadline with Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC). The first such work stoppage since 1968 on the bi-national waterway and important supply chain corridor stirred a big cry of alarm not only from Canadian marine industry and business circles but also from U.S. Great Lakes ports urging Canada’s federal government to intervene.

Oct 22, 2023View Full Blog

Strike notice threatens St. Lawrence Seaway shutdown as of Sunday

The St. Lawrence Seaway, the maritime trade corridor connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the industrial heartlands of Canada and the United States, could be closed to all traffic as of 00.01 hours on Sunday should the 361 Canadian unionized workers carry through their threatened strike action.

Oct 19, 2023View Full Blog

Federal funding announced for Port of Montreal Contrecoeur project

The Canadian government has announced funding of $150 million for the Port of Montreal’s massive Contrecoeur terminal project whose cost has reportedly ballooned from C$950 million to over C$1.4 billion.

Oct 11, 2023View Full Blog

Canada’s West Coast Longshoremen begin strike…on Canada Day

In a job action which will potentially have a significant ripple effect on the Canadian economy and trade with Asia, the union representing 7,400 terminal and port workers in 29 ports in British Columbia walked off their jobs early today for an unspecified duration – coincidentally on Canada’s national holiday.

Jul 03, 2023View Full Blog

Major financing and operator decisions coming on Montreal’s big Contrecoeur container project

As the clock ticks away, so do construction costs escalate in a high inflationary environment. Delays on the Contrecoeur project could mean the Port of Montreal will not have the container capacity it wants in place by 2027 to meet expected demand and thereby continue to compete effectively against key U.S. East Ports in a strong expansion mode - buttressed by the Biden Administration’s multi-billion-dollar infrastructure program.

May 23, 2023View Full Blog

Trade impact with US escalates as Canadian protest movement spreads

As the Canadian demonstrators blocking access to the vital Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario entered a fourth day with no end in sight, the bilateral trade impact of the protest movement against COVID-19 measures is rapidly escalating.

Feb 11, 2022View Full Blog

More floods in British Columbia worsen Port of Vancouver’s supply chain issues

After torrential rains called the ‘storm of the century’ hammered British Columbia’s southern interior in mid-November, submerging many communities and critical rail and road links with Canada’s largest port, the supply chain crisis appears to be getting from bad to worse, with the third rainstorm that began Wednesday.

Dec 02, 2021View Full Blog

Port of Montreal sets late 2026 as new target date for planned Contrecoeur container terminal

At a technical briefing this week, the Port of Montreal updated the procurement process that national or international consortiums need to follow in seeking to partner with Canada’s second largest maritime gateway in its biggest project in decades

Nov 12, 2021View Full Blog

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