Image: Canadian Press / File / Vancouver Port strike

By Ben Stewart, Opposition Shadow Minister for Trade

OPINION

YOUR PERSPECTIVE: NDP must act, as Port strike continues to cost British Columbians

Jul 12, 2023 | 10:12 AM

The longer the B.C. port strike drags on, the more it wreaks havoc on B.C.’s economy — and while the federal labour minister has now given the meditator a deadline to propose a settlement, our BC United caucus is still wondering why NDP Premier David Eby refused to call on the federal government to step in and bring an end to this dispute.

With cargo loading and unloading operations halted at more than thirty ports across British Columbia, the strike has been having major ripple effects across the local economy. A survey by the Canadian Federation of Business shows 53 per cent of Canadian businesses say the strike will affect their operations. They expressed concern about delayed production or orders, missing key sales, and an inability to get their products to export markets. Three-quarters of businesses wanted the federal government to prioritize ending the strike quickly.

The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) also weighed in, noting the strain this strike is having on the provincial forest sector. The shutdown of the ports is landlocking our forest products and preventing them from getting to overseas markets. Forest products are one of B.C.’s major exports, with about $15 billion worth of forest products exported annually, representing close to one-quarter of merchandise exports from B.C. Last year, forest products represented about 15 per cent of all the cargo flowing through the Port of Vancouver.

While premiers from other provinces voiced their concerns over the past 12 days, Premier David Eby and NDP Labour Minister Harry Bains remained silent as the strike’s effects continued to escalate. The NDP government should have had all hands on deck to help get this strike resolved but instead, they seemed content to sit back and do nothing as our economy suffered.

British Columbia’s ports are vital to Canada’s international trade, moving more than $800 million of goods every day and 25 per cent of Canada’s total traded goods annually. With the disruption caused by the strike, businesses that rely on imported goods, especially from Asia, are at risk of running out of inventory. As a result, they may need to reroute products from ports in Seattle or other suppliers, which will inevitably increase costs for consumers here in B.C.

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Under the previous BC Liberal government, the Pacific Gateway Strategy played a pivotal part in securing reliable and stable trade operations to address challenges such as strikes. Now, it is essential for the province to build upon those efforts, protect our trade-dependent businesses, and restore confidence in our ports.

Our former BC Liberal government spent many years trying to rebuild certainty and create opportunities in international markets, after more than a decade of labour unrest that developed during the 1990s under the NDP. Today, the NDP’s lack of action and interest in the current port strike is dismantling those efforts and simply creating uncertainty all over again.

What David Eby and the NDP should have done was stood up for B.C. businesses and pressed the federal government to end this dispute quickly. Instead, they said nothing of substance and chose not to defend and protect our economy.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of Fraser Valley Today or Pattison Media.