A resumption of strike action at Canada’s ports looms, as port workers’ unions in Montreal and British Columbia have launched a legal challenge to Canada’s labor minister order to return to work, issued November 12.

The challenge comes from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514, which represents supervisory longshore workers in the British Columbia dispute, and The BC Maritime Employers Association, which represents West Coast port employers including in Vancouver. According to Splash24, a panel at Canada’s Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) will hold a meeting in December to deliberate whether minister Steven Mackinnon has the legal and constitutional authority to order dockworkers back to work.

The CIRB ordered a resumption of operations at all affected Canadian ports from the morning of November 16, after dockworkers at two terminals at the Port of Montreal — whose labor deal expired at the end of 2023 — went on strike on October 31. On November 4, the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) imposed a lockout against foremen at the Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, hours before foremen had scheduled a walkout.

The order was the second time in three months that Canada’s Liberal government has stepped in to halt a labor dispute. In August, it ordered an end to work stoppages at the country's two largest railway companies. Meanwhile, negotiations between the unions and the port operators have stalled.

In a statement from the Canadian Labour Congress issued November 12, president Bea Bruske said that imposing binding arbitration or back-to-work legislation “undermines workers’ rights to collective bargaining, weakening their ability to fight for fair wages and safe workplaces.”

“Political interference tips the scales toward employers and sets a dangerous precedent,” Bruske said.