FEDERAL Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon announced on Thursday that he was using his authority under the Canada Labour Code to direct the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to assist the CN and CPKC railways and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union in settling the outstanding terms of their collective agreement by imposing final, binding arbitration.

MacKinnon also directed the board to extend the term of the current collective agreements until new agreements have been signed and for operations on both railways to resume forthwith.

MacKinnon said: “There is no question we are at an impasse. The parties remain very far apart on the issues.” He added: “The effects of the impasse are being borne by Canadians every day.”

CN later announced that, effective 6 p.m. ET, it ended its lockout and immediately initiated its recovery plan.

It said in a statement: “As CN awaits the formal order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), the Company is making this decision to expedite the recovery of the economy.

“While CN is satisfied that this labour conflict has ended and that it can get back to its role of powering the economy, the Company is disappointed that a negotiated deal could not be achieved at the bargaining table despite its best efforts.”

FEDERAL NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh slammed the decision.

He said in a statement:  “Justin Trudeau has just sent a message to CN, CPKC and all big corporations—being a bad boss pays off.

“The Liberals’ actions are cowardly, anti-worker and proof that they will always cave to corporate greed, and Canadians will always pay for it.

“There will be no end to lockouts now. Every employer knows they can get exactly what they want from Justin Trudeau by refusing to negotiate with their workers in good faith. And that puts the safety of workers and communities at risk.”