B.C. port strike raises questions the nature of essential goods
The strike of 7,400 unionized B.C. port workers has shut down exports for more than 3 weeks. The strike looks like it may soon be over, but for many farmers in the region, the situation proved too close for comfort. They argue that Canada’s failure to categorize food products as essential – and therefore exempt from supply-chain issues arising from strikes such as this one – not only undermines a $143.8-billion agricultural industry, but poses a threat to food security.
The Port of Vancouver handles 3,500 tons of ready-to-consume food on a daily basis, said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. The strike therefore delayed the inbound and outbound movement over 12 days of 42,000 tons of product.
Some sources want Ottawa to give perishable agriculture the same protection as grain. The Canadian Labour Code specifies that longshore workers must continue to serve bulk grain vessels during strikes.
“I would like to believe we are essential,” said Keith Currie, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, which represents 190,000 farmers and ranchers across Canada. He is concerned that delays from strikes have the potential to boost prices, because of limited trade and delays in imports of machinery and crop-protection products essential to production.
Source: theglobeandmail.com
