Atlantic truck official says Halifax Port disruptions hurt image

HALIFAX, (Aug. 24, 2004) — A spokesman for Atlantic trucking carriers says that the crucial Port of Halifax runs the risk of losing business if it’s tagged as a trouble spot for shippers.

Executive director of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association Ralph Boyd told the Chronicle-Herald that the port can’t afford any more “black eyes.”

Boyd was referring to incidents like this weekend’s strike that shut down the port for about 10 hours when members of Local 269 of the International Longshoremen’s Association carried out the illegal wildcat strike to protest the Halifax Employers Association’s firing of a longshoreman. The strike caused shipping delays and container backlogs that were still affecting the port and rail yesterday, the Chronicle-Herald reports.

The longshoreman was fired because he had participated in two illegal work stoppages.

Boyd said that the port of Halifax is in danger of losing some major business if it doesn’t start “operating like a fine Swiss watch.”

Both major ports on each of Canada’s coasts have faced unrest this year, and are looking to prevent being tagged with a bad reputation. In April about 80 per cent of ship docking, marine shipping and tug and barge services at various B.C. ports were hampered after 800 tug and barge operators went on a weeklong strike. The Port of Vancouver alone was reported to have lost over $100 million from the labour disruption.

At the time, in-coming vessels were diverted to the Ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Portland, where some of the cargo was picked up and trucked back to Canada.

— with files from the Chronicle-Herald