Bill C-39 has language around railway interswitching and labour
The Liberal government’s first bill of the fall session has components affecting the ag sector.
Overall, Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, is designed to “bring greater speed, certainty, and predictability to infrastructure project reviews, and support the workers who will build them,” a government backgrounder says.
Within the bill are two parts important to Canadian agriculture.
One is related to interswitching.
The bill proposes a four-year continuation to the 160km extended interswitching (the transfer of traffic between two railway companies) radius for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
This perk will only be realized, however, “when there is a reliable trading relationship with the United States,” the government document says, as American railways like BNSF benefit from interswitching too.
The Liberals committed to extending the Extended Railway Interswitching Pilot by three years during the 2025 election campaign.
Extended interswitching became law in Canada in 2014 under Prime Minister Harper.
The program continued to receive extensions until Prime Minister Trudeau prorogued Parliament in January 2025.
The other portion of Bill C-39 with ag implications relates to labour laws.
Specifically, thresholds around Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, which provides the labour minister with authority to end labour disruptions.
“Bill C-39 establishes a clearer and more transparent framework for the use of these authorities in the exceptional circumstance of a labour dispute that threatens to have significant national impacts,” the government says.
Under C-39, the minister could invoke Section 107 powers after:
- a special mediator has been appointed and completed their mandate;
- the special mediator has submitted a public report to the Minister;
- the Minister has considered that report; and
- the Minister has formed the opinion that a strike or lockout would have a significant adverse national impact.
Canadian ag has been caught in the crossfire of labour disputes multiple times.
In August 2024, for example, Grain Growers of Canada estimated work stoppages at CN and CPKC cost grain farmers more than $50 million daily.
And that September, grain workers at the Port of Vancouver went on strike for four days after the minister of labour requested federal mediation.