Manitoba grain producers bracing for impacts after workers at Vancouver port terminals go on strike

An industry group representing Manitoba's farmers is worried Canada's position as a reliable grain supplier might be tarnished after operations at one of the busiest ports for bulk grain export came to a halt on Tuesday.

Workers at several Metro Vancouver grain terminals walked off the job after members of the Grain Workers Union Local 333 couldn't come to an agreement on a new contract with their employer, the Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association.

Workers went on strike on Tuesday, halting operations at some of Canada's busiest terminals for bulk grain exports. 

Jill Verwey, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, a non-profit organization representing close to 4,600 Manitoba farmers, told CBC News Tuesday that the job action in Vancouver couldn't have come at a worse time. 

"A strike occurring right now during our peak [harvest] season does cause widespread disruption for our grain producers and for exporters serving international customers," she said. 

Uncertainty around the country's reliability as a supplier has been growing, Verwey said, after lockouts at Canada's two biggest railways earlier this summer.

"If our reputation continues to have a negative impact because we can't get our grain to our customers, then those customers are going to be looking elsewhere for grain," she said. 

"That's the last thing that we want." 

Exports halted, bulk grain backlog

Barry Prentice, professor of supply chain management at the University of Manitoba, said the strike came as shipments of grain started coming in from farms on the Prairies, and with a limited amount of bin space for storage, producers were depending on shipping to avoid pileups. 

With workers on the picket lines, Verwey said, there won't be personnel at the terminals to load the ships sitting off Vancouver's coast with bulk grain shipments, halting exports including those coming from Manitoba.

Over the days, the excess amounts of grain will fill the storage room at the port, creating a "significant backlog" in the Prairies grain transport network and forcing some farmers in Manitoba to fall back on their commitments with buyers.

"It's yet another example of how fragile the system is … we rely 100 per cent on the terminals to get our grain to our customers," Verwey said.

Prentice said the impacts of the strike will be felt in the coming weeks, especially for those who are solely dependent on Vancouver's port for exports. 

"We would not be affected quite as much," he said.

With grain terminals in Thunder Bay, Ont., still working around the clock, Prentice said gain producers in Manitoba might find a bit of relief compared to shippers in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

"For farmers, the harvest is your payday and a lot of farmers are depending on that to meet their bills." 

Verwey said any impact to grain exports puts an additional strain on producers to pay off their input costs, from seeding all the way through harvest. 

"The last thing that we want to see is farmers being forced to store on the ground," she said. 

Keystone Agricultural Producers is hoping a resolution at the bargaining table can bring the strike to an end, reactivating the Vancouver terminal activity. 

"But at the end of the day if there isn't any [solution] then we of course look to our leadership federally to ensure there is a quick resolution," Verwey said.