The union representing railway employees has announced that it is exploring avenues to contest the decision made by Ottawa to request the Canada Industrial Relations Board to implement final, binding arbitration aimed at resolving the shutdown affecting Canada’s two largest railway companies. In a statement issued in Ottawa shortly after thousands of unionized workers were locked out from the country’s main railway operators, Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon expressed his intention to utilize his powers under the Canada Labour Code to “maintain industrial peace” by enforcing final, binding arbitration. Moreover, he has directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to extend the current collective agreement until a new one is established and to require a return to work. François Laporte, the national president of Teamsters Canada, commented on Thursday that the union is in consultation with its legal advisors and is assessing its next steps. “We maintain that the Supreme Court ruling regarding our right to strike is a constitutional right. Additionally, we argue that the application of Article 107 (of the Canada Labour Code) is not valid. We are currently evaluating our options in response to this development,” he informed reporters in Calgary on Friday. Read More…