On September 14, the Vancouver Mission to Seafarers will be holding their annual Cycling for Seafarers event to raise money for the welfare of seafarers in the Port of Vancouver, This charitable organziation provides spiritual guidance and wellness for crew-members in addition to hospitality, connectivity, transportation and a “home away from home”.

Seafarers work an extremely difficult job, often in poor and hazardous conditions. They live and work far away from home and months removed from their families. They are a vital and essential workforce in today’s world. Please take some time to consider their sacrifices which often go overlooked despite their integral role in keeping the world’s economy moving.

If you would like to help our make a contribution, you can find more information here.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has increased the maximum draft and daily transits for its expanded neopanamax locks in response to improved water levels. Effective immediately, the maximum draft is now 14.94 meters (49.0 feet), up from previous limits, and daily transits have been raised to 35, up from 34. This adjustment is a step towards normalizing operations after last year’s severe drought. Water levels in Gatun Lake have risen to 85 feet, higher than last year’s levels and the recent five-year average. The ACP aims to reach 36 daily transits by September and will continue to adjust draft limits based on water levels.

Source BC Chamber of Shipping

On August 2, DP World Fraser Surrey announced that the draft restriction for vessels calling Fraser Grain Terminal has now returned to the standard controlling draft of 11.5 metres. The spring freshet had largely restricted vessels outbound from FGT to an 11m draft through June and an 11.2m draft through July of this year. Barring any extreme weather events, the controlling draft for FGT should remain at 11.5m until late spring, 2025.

Now for some good news!

The forecast for this year’s crop continues to look good with analysts predicting near record production for Western Canadian farmers, with impressive yields reported across major grain-growing regions. Industry analysts have highlighted significant improvements expected for this crop year, particularly in spring and durum wheat.

Based on Statistic Canada’s latest acreage estimates and average abandonment, durum yields are estimated to reach 44 bushels (bu.) per acre, which would be an 18 bu. improvement over last year. This would translate into a crop of 7.4 million tonnes and would be the second largest in the past 10 years, ranking behind the 2016 crop.

Spring wheat yields are forecast at a record 57 bushels per acre, up 10 bu. from last year and driving production to 27.8 million tonnes (a 3.4 million tonne improvement over last year).

While the overall outlook for canola remains positive, concerns remain about potential impacts from recent conditions with some of the late-seeded plantings. Overall canola yields are anticipated to reach 42 bushels per acre and a crop of 20.6 million tonnes, which would be an improvement of 5 bu. and approximately 2.3 million tonnes from last year.

Barley yields are forecast at 74 bushels per acre, up 12.6 bu. from last year. Production is estimated at 8.1 million tonnes.

Now let’s just hope all this grain doesn’t have to wait too long for a ride to the port.

You can check out all the latest grain numbers from Statistic Canada here.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 (ILWU 514) has confirmed that an industry-wide strike vote is underway after its last strike notice, issued only to DP World Canada, was deemed by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) as not bargaining in good faith.

Local 514 had previously issued a 72-hour strike notice against the employer in July but before the strike could take affect, the CIRB determined the union had not bargained in good faith and directed them to take back its original notice.

The union leadership, which represents 730 foremen in BC, has also signaled their intentions to seek a judicial review of the CIRB decision that determined the union can’t bargain with DP World alone, saying it doesn’t believe the board is correctly interpreting the law. A spokesperson for Local 514 stated that the union has “no interest in an industry-wide dispute as a result of just one employer that won’t bargain” on an issue critical to its members.

The main issue between ILWU 514 and DP World Canada centres on compensation for increased automation at DP’s container terminals.

On Aug 9, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN) issued lockout notices to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) effective August 22, if a negotiated settlement or binding arbitration cannot be reached in that time. This potential lockout of the TCRC, representing approximately 9,300 engineers, conductors, yard workers and rail traffic controllers across the two railways, would fully cease operations on both of Canada’s trans-continental railways and bring a halt to the movement of goods across the country.

The lockout notice followed the ruling earlier in the day by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) that found public health and safety will not be compromised in the event of a full-scale disruption to the rail services across the country. The CIRB a;sp ordered a 13-day cooling-off period as part of their decision, thus the earliest possible commencement of a strike or lockout would be 0001 hours on August 22.

The railways had resumed separate contract talks with TCRC representatives on August 7, following a meeting with Canadian Ministers of Transport and Labour. The talks were held with the assistance of federal officials however both sides reported no progress was made in these discussions.

Subsequent to the CIRB decision, CN Rail also made a formal request to the federal government to order binding arbitration on both sides given the ongoing lack of progress in negotiations. This move was also supported by CPKC. The Minister of Labour has yet to make a decision on this request.

CN Rail have made 4 separate offers to the TCRC this year which they have stated, “included points on wages, rest, and labour availability while remaining fully compliant with the government-mandated rules overseeing duty and rest periods.”
CPKC Rail have made 2 offers the union this year which, per their website, would offer “significant benefits for our employees and fully comply with new regulatory requirements for rest. They do not in any way compromise safety.”

For their part, after the CIRB’s decision came down, the TCRC announced they would provide a 72-hour advance notice of strike action, as required if no contract agreement is reached. The union voted overwhelmingly in favour (approximately 97.8%) of a strike mandate earlier this year. Their stated key issues remain safety and rest periods along with the parameters of the proposed mandated work periods and employee relocation.

While Canada has had rail strikes in the past, never before have we seen labour negotiations and the potential for work stoppages occur for both railroads at the same time. Previous rail labour disruptions occurred separately with shippers able to divert commodities to the working rail road instead. Rail service continued, but at a much slower pace.

A full-scale shutdown of Canada’s national railways would have immediate and severe consequences for Canadian shippers. An approximate $380 billion worth in goods are shipped on Canada’s railways every year, including an estimated 75% of Canadian fertilizer and close to 85% of our agricultural products.