WRLA response to West Coast Port Worker's Strike

Dear WRLA members,

As of Saturday, July 1, port workers in British Columbia walked off the job. The action by approximately 7,400 employees has brought shipping at 30 B.C. ports, including Vancouver, which is one of the busiest ports in the country, to a standstill.

WRLA members are no strangers to what happens when part of the supply chain is interrupted. While some provinces will likely take longer to feel the full effect of this strike, this stoppage looms particularly large for the Lumber and Building Materials Industry, where so much of the business relies on transporting resources to manufacturers, to distributors, all the way to the consumer-facing retail stores.

More than 100 Associations across Canada, including WRLA have signed onto a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, expressing our concern about the impact this labour dispute will have on the millions of Canadians employed by businesses across the country. At a time when everyone is battling record inflation, the potential for this stoppage to make things worse cannot be overstated. Read the letter.

Specific to WRLA, we plan to issue a press release next week on behalf of our membership. We have our analysis of the situation ready to inform this release, but we need to include actual feedback and tangible impacts from our members to add strength to the case for support. It will be very helpful to us if you are able to email us a brief statement about how this break in the supply chain is either impacting your business or is likely to.

It is our hope that negotiations will produce a swift resolution to this issue, but we need our government ready to take action and ensure that the livelihoods of millions of Canadians who require reliable shipping are minimally disrupted.

We will keep our members posted as we receive new information.
Sincere regards,

Liz Kovach
President
Supply-Build Canada