CASPER
New member
Canadian National Railway and striking locomotive engineers have until Wednesday night to reach a deal or the House of Commons will likely begin debate and pass a bill to end the walkout.
Under the government's legislative agenda for Wednesday, the House of Commons would debate and vote on motions to fast-track the legislation. If the motions pass as expected, debate on the back-to-work bill would start at 8 p.m. (0100 GMT Thursday). Debate in the Commons would continue until passage.
Under that scenario the legislation could pass the House and then the Senate on Thursday, but it could be longer if opposition parties exercise their right to put up each of their legislators to speak.
Canada's biggest railway raised hope of a possible deal on Tuesday when it offered a potential olive branch to the engineers, who are angry about a change in the amount of time they have to work each month.
CN said it would agree to binding arbitration on wage and benefit issues and roll back its demand for a higher cap on the number of miles the engineers must drive each month.
The offer to end the strike is conditional on the union withdrawing unspecified work demands from the bargaining table. On Wednesday morning, the union said it was still reviewing the company's proposals.
In Ottawa, the main opposition Liberal Party had said it would most likely support the Conservative government in trying to move the legislation through quickly, because of the importance of the railway to the whole Canadian economy.
It could have passed immediately but the smaller Bloc Quebecois and New Democratic Party opposed it. They are able to delay passage but lack the numbers to scupper it.
On Tuesday shippers of goods such as grains, coal and lumber had reported mild disruptions so far, but warned that problems would grow the longer workers stayed on the picket line and managers man the locomotives.
CN has about 225 managers capable of filling in for the 1,700 locomotive engineers that are on strike.
But the government is concerned that a prolonged strike could cause serious damage to the economy, possibly tipping it back into recession.
Under the government's legislative agenda for Wednesday, the House of Commons would debate and vote on motions to fast-track the legislation. If the motions pass as expected, debate on the back-to-work bill would start at 8 p.m. (0100 GMT Thursday). Debate in the Commons would continue until passage.
Under that scenario the legislation could pass the House and then the Senate on Thursday, but it could be longer if opposition parties exercise their right to put up each of their legislators to speak.
Canada's biggest railway raised hope of a possible deal on Tuesday when it offered a potential olive branch to the engineers, who are angry about a change in the amount of time they have to work each month.
CN said it would agree to binding arbitration on wage and benefit issues and roll back its demand for a higher cap on the number of miles the engineers must drive each month.
The offer to end the strike is conditional on the union withdrawing unspecified work demands from the bargaining table. On Wednesday morning, the union said it was still reviewing the company's proposals.
In Ottawa, the main opposition Liberal Party had said it would most likely support the Conservative government in trying to move the legislation through quickly, because of the importance of the railway to the whole Canadian economy.
It could have passed immediately but the smaller Bloc Quebecois and New Democratic Party opposed it. They are able to delay passage but lack the numbers to scupper it.
On Tuesday shippers of goods such as grains, coal and lumber had reported mild disruptions so far, but warned that problems would grow the longer workers stayed on the picket line and managers man the locomotives.
CN has about 225 managers capable of filling in for the 1,700 locomotive engineers that are on strike.
But the government is concerned that a prolonged strike could cause serious damage to the economy, possibly tipping it back into recession.