B.C. cargo flow should resume in days after port strike: researcher

A logistics researcher says it should take only days for cargo flow to return to pre-strike levels at B.C. ports after a 13-day work stoppage ended with a tentative deal Thursday.

Simon Fraser University professor Peter V. Hall says he expects the nearly two-week-long strike will have minimal long-term effects on the overall flow of goods through ports, like the one in Vancouver.

“The reason why I say that is that the time of year makes a big difference here — this is before the big rush for the holiday season, in terms of imported containers. And we’re not yet into the big grain export season. So this wasn’t the time of year when there’s a lot of pressure on the rail system,” he explained.

On Thursday, it was announced that the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada had come to a tentative deal, just days after the federal labour minister appointed mediators to help both sides come to a resolution.

The deal still needs to be ratified.

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• Tentative deal reached to end weeks-long B.C. port strike

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• B.C. port strike has disrupted nearly $9B in trade: business, industry groups

About 7,400 workers at more than 30 B.C. ports began striking on Canada Day over issues including pay and provisions related to maintenance work, contracting out, and automation.

Port workers were back on the job Thursday afternoon, with the BCMEA saying more than 500 were being dispatched at Vancouver’s inner harbour by 8 a.m. Friday.

Hall says the port employers need to work with the union on significant long-term “structural changes,” such as training to deal with the onset of automation.

He adds ports like Vancouver will continue to face challenges on skilled labour if training isn’t addressed.

“You know, if we ever go through another one of these booms in the oil patch when anybody’s got any kind of technical skills getting sucked up into that industry, that’ll just compound what is already a difficult situation. So those are long-term structural issues that the industry does need to work on,” he explained.

Gantry cranes sit idle above cruise ships and stacks of cargo containers at port during a strike by International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada workers in the province in Vancouver on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Work has resumed at British Columbia ports after both sides of the strike agreed to a tentative deal Thursday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s operations dashboard Friday morning showed the Centerm, Vanterm, Deltaport, and Fraser Surrey terminals were all “operating normally,” with truck waiting times for loading and unloading ranging from 20 minutes to one hour and 13 minutes.

Despite Hall’s optimism, business groups have said the days-long job action disrupted about $9 billion worth of trade.

An industry expert also said Tuesday that it could be October before port supply chains return to normal.

-With files from Martin MacMahon