Canada, B.C., Port Metro Vancouver Act to Protect Economy

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Government of British Columbia Mar 20, 2014

The Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia and Port Metro Vancouver announced that they are taking immediate and co-ordinated action to address the work disruption at Port Metro Vancouver, Canada's Asia-Pacific gateway.

Port Metro Vancouver will begin its planned reform of the licensing system and move to terminate licenses.

The Government of British Columbia is preparing back-to-work legislation with a 90-day cooling off period for 250 truckers who are members of Unifor, with the intention of introduction in the Legislature as early as Monday, March 24.

These actions are necessary, and are required today to protect the economy, protect jobs for British Columbians and Canadians, and keep goods and services moving across the country.

It has been seven days since the joint 14-point Action Plan was presented to truckers, as developed by both governments and PMV on the basis of recommendations from Vince Ready. Despite the offer to work on the plan, truckers have not returned to work. On March 8, truckers rejected a proposal to end the job action presented by Ready, despite the endorsement of union leadership.

The governments of Canada and B.C., along with Port Metro Vancouver, are committed to implementing the 14-point Action Plan with the help of Vince Ready, once work resumes. The plan ensures truck drivers are paid fair compensation and a quick implementation of pilot measures to help reduce wait times at container terminals and the creation of an industry oversight committee.

Quick Facts:

• Port Metro Vancouver is Canada's largest port. In 2013, the port handled a record 135 million tonnes of cargo, an overall increase of nine per cent over 2012.
• Approximately 2,000 Port Metro Vancouver licensed trucks service the port, moving containers throughout the Lower Mainland.
• The local trucking industry moves approximately 1.3 million TEUs per year in Port Metro Vancouver. Based on 2011 economic impact study figures, the value of those goods would be worth approximately $46 billion or roughly $885 million per week.
• The twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) is a standard unit for describing a ship's cargo-carrying capacity, or a shipping terminal's cargo-handling capacity.

Quotes:

Canadian Minister of Transport, Hon. Lisa Raitt -

"Port Metro Vancouver is Canada's largest and busiest port, and this disruption is having a severe effect on our economy. The truckers working at the port have had a number of days to look at the 14-point action plan and I encourage them to go back to work, so we can start to implement the actions as soon as possible."

British Columbia Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone -

"I'm confident that the 14-point action plan that has been put in place is the right approach to resolving the issues raised by truckers. It's imperative that they respond to the plan with an end to the work stoppage, so that both they and the port can get back to work."

Port Metro Vancouver president and CEO Robin Silvester -

"Through our ongoing discussions with industry and our commitment to improve the truck licensing system and other efficiencies at the port, we can find a resolution that will get operations back to normal quickly."