Canada on Tuesday ordered striking dockworkers to return to the Port of Vancouver to clear more than a week of container congestion bound for the United States and Canada, saying “the work stoppages are impacting our supply chain.” ‘supply “. Dock workers at the ports of Prince Rupert and Montreal were also ordered to return. Photo courtesy of Port of Vancouver

Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon announced the order which calls for binding and final arbitration between unions and port owners after negotiations on both sides reached a “total impasse.”

“These work stoppages impact our supply chain, hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs, our economy and our reputation,” MacKinnon told reporters Tuesday.

“Canadians currently have limited tolerance for economic self-harm,” MacKinnon added. “If these work stoppages continue, the impacts will only get worse, and our well-deserved reputation for reliability will be put at risk due to these standoffs, where more than $1.3 billion in goods are impacted every day. “

Canadian ports on both coasts have been closed since November 4, after unions went on strike and the port management locked them out.

Despite Tuesday’s work order, it could take weeks to empty all the containers.

“The disruptions these conflicts have caused to retail supply chains have been severe, and this at our busiest time of year,” the Retail Council of Canada said in a statement to CNBC.

“The ripple effects will continue to be felt. It will take weeks for our sector to recover, but Canadians can rest assured that they will continue to get all of their essential retail products in the days to come,” he said. added the council.

According to the U.S. Census, approximately $572 million worth of containerized goods are shipped from Canada to the United States each day. About 20% of American goods pass through Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

The national president of Teamsters Canada, François Laporte, blasted the government’s order on Tuesday, calling it a “baseless story.”

“This government must practice what it preaches when it comes to workers’ rights,” Laporte said. “The unions will fight to the end.”

“Canada is a strong country, and the idea that we are supposedly one strike or lockout away from economic collapse is a baseless narrative,” he added.

“We are already calling on the government in court to put an end to these repeated violations of our Charter rights. Today’s developments only add weight to our case.”