The Communist Party of Canada strongly condemns Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon for his remarks that “there is a limit to economic self-destruction that Canadians are prepared to accept” and his subsequent decision to impose a return-to-work order on port workers in Montreal and British Columbia amidst their dispute with their port employers. This intervention mirrors the approach used by other employers and government earlier this summer to suppress CP and CN railway workers through legislative force.
In collaboration with employer cartels, the government is playing a game where employers impose lockouts, followed by binding arbitration, which overwhelmingly favours management. This is achieved through Section 107 of the federal Labour Code, which enables the government to bypass strike laws. Employers make an exaggerated claim of significant profit loss to involve the government in mediation—a process tramples on the right to free collective bargaining and the right to strike.
If economic sabotage is truly intolerable to Canadians, it is crucial to recognize its root cause: monopoly power. Strikes and industrial action are not acts of sabotage; they are tools to challenge corporate power, forcing employers to invest in jobs, wages, public services, and infrastructure rather than war and profit-hoarding. Monopolies, not workers, sabotage the economy by privatizing profits and socializing losses.
At the Port of Montreal, workers rejected management’s offer on November 10th. Since October 10th, they had engaged in partial and overtime strikes, seeking to eliminate the gruelling requirement of being on standby 19 out of every 21 days, and the practice of sidelining workers with only 24 hours’ notice. Job security remains central to the dispute, as Montreal is the only Canadian port with a guaranteed minimum weekly pay, accessible only after nine years of employment. The union seeks to reduce this threshold to three years, much to the employers’ dismay. Management’s latest offer—a 19% wage increase over six years—falls short of the 20% increase over four years achieved by workers at the ports of Halifax and Vancouver.
It is worth noting that this conflict stems from the imposition of a collective agreement under special legislation in May 2021, which forced longshoremen back to work. Many of the union’s current demands address the unresolved issues left by that earlier interference in negotiations.
In British Columbia, 700 supervisors without contracts since March have adopted a strike mandate with 96% support. Management’s proposal includes a 19.2% wage increase over four years but ignores the critical issue of hiring in the face of increasing automation, which threatens layoffs. This issue is not new; employers in this industry have long sought to impose layoffs and flexible working conditions whenever new technologies are introduced.
Meanwhile, in Quebec City, where longshoremen have been locked out for over two years, Minister MacKinnon has not imposed arbitration. In this smaller port, employers continue to use strikebreakers, circumventing the effects of the lockout to serve their interests. Although a new law banning strikebreakers was passed, it will not take effect until 2025.
These examples highlight the extent to which the state, as long as it is subservient to monopolistic power, functions to protect capitalist profits. Whether it is the Liberals, Conservatives, or even supposedly “progressive” figures like Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante—who expressed relief that “activities [at the port] are resuming”—all play roles in perpetuating state monopoly capitalism.
In the context of an economic crisis and a resurgent working class asserting its power through industrial action, breaking unions and suppressing the right to strike become urgent priorities for the capitalist state.
The Communist Party reaffirms our unwavering solidarity with the port workers. We not only denounce the use of Section 107 of the Labour Code but call for its outright repeal. We urge workers everywhere to stand in solidarity to resist this assault on the right to strike and defend the ability of workers to organize and take strike action.
Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada