S&P/TSX rises Monday, U.S. markets also trade higher as post-election wave continues

MONTREAL – Operations at the Port of Montreal were greatly reduced Monday as the Maritime Employers Association made good on a threat to lock out nearly 1,200 longshore workers if they didn’t accept what it called a final contract offer.

The lockout took effect at 9 p.m. on Sunday, and the employers’ association is asking federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to intervene. MacKinnon’s office issued a statement Monday calling on both sides at the country’s second largest port to get back to the negotiating table.

“The parties must understand the urgency of the situation and do the work necessary to reach an agreement,” his office said. “Canadians are counting on them.”

The union told a news conference on Monday it is ready to return to the table as early as Tuesday. But Michel Murray, an adviser with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the dock workers, said union overtures have received no response from the employer.

Murray told a news conference simultaneous lockouts in Montreal and Vancouver seem designed to force the federal government’s hand. Port workers in British Columbia are locked out amid a labour dispute involving more than 700 longshore supervisors, resulting in a paralysis of container cargo traffic at terminals across Canada’s west coast.

“We hope that the employer side will emerge from its silence of the past three weeks,” Murray said. “But clearly, when we look at what is happening, the lockout in Vancouver, the lockout in Montreal, we feel that it is a co-ordinated, planned attempt to increase the pressure on the federal government so that it intervenes in our file.”

Julie Gascon, CEO of the Montreal Port Authority, warned of “catastrophic” economic consequences of a prolonged conflict.

“This lockout affects not only the 1,200 longshoremen directly impacted by the work stoppage, but it also impacts over 10,000 workers in the logistics sector, from trucking and railway employees to maritime agents and pilots,” she said in a statement.

“Logistics jobs are the first to be affected, which inevitably sets off a domino effect throughout the entire economy in the markets we serve.”

Gascon told reporters in an early morning news conference effects will trickle down to other parts of the economy. “Today the conflict is impacting the supply chain, but tomorrow the conflict will impact factories as well, after that, it will be retailers,” she said.

The Port of Montreal, which moves nearly $400 million in goods every day, said essential services will continue, with liquid bulk terminals and the grain terminal among those remaining open.

The employers association in Montreal said it initiated the lockout after the unionized workers voted almost unanimously to reject a contract offer tabled last week. The workers have been without a collective agreement since Dec. 31 and had rejected two previous offers.

The employer said last week its latest offer included a three-per-cent salary increase each year for four years and a 3.5 per cent increase for the two subsequent years. The employer said the increases offered would bring a longshore worker’s total average compensation to more than $200,000 per year at the end of the six-year contract.

The union, the Syndicat des débardeurs du port de Montréal, called the figure exaggerated. It said the employer is focused on salaries, but what members want are improvements in scheduling and work-life balance. Members who are parents do not want to have stretches where they work 19 out of 21 days, it said.

Murray said it’s time to put those previous offers — which clearly cannot be the basis of any agreement — in the “shredder” and discuss what it will take for both sides to enter into a long-term agreement.

The Conseil du patronat, which represents Quebec employers, said it is very concerned about the latest work stoppage. It and a group representing manufacturers called on the federal government to intervene.

“Businesses and citizens can no longer bear the cost of this situation, which is repeated too often,” the Conseil du patronat said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2024.

— With files from Lia Lévesque

TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it earned $96.9 million in its third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million a year earlier.

The company says its revenue totalled $286.3 million, up from $271.4 million during the same quarter last year.

President and CEO Jonathan Gitlin says the company is capitalizing on a favourable environment for retail real estate.

He says RioCan continues to “strategically evolve” its tenant roster in favour of income stability and growth.

The company says as of Monday, almost 86 per cent of units in the residential rental portion of its new flagship Toronto property The Well were leased.

It says foot traffic at The Well continues to surpass expectations, and 97 per cent of its commercial space is leased.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)

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HALIFAX – As Nova Scotia politicians make their fall election promises, Julie Leggett is urging them to commit to helping people on income assistance stay cool during heat waves.

The resident of New Glasgow, N.S., recently won an appeal board decision granting her a $450 reimbursement for an air conditioner, and she’s hoping the victory will become a wider policy in the Department of Community Services.

The 44-year-old bought the air conditioner with a loan from a friend this summer because she couldn’t face another stretch of weeks during which the heat increased her chronic pain and added complications to her multiple sclerosis.

However, the Department of Community Services refused to pay for the unit, leading her to make her case before the Assistance Appeal Board.

In an Oct. 22 ruling, board member Wanda MacDonald agreed with Leggett that the medical conditions she experiences are made worse by the blasts of high heat that can sweep across the province in July and August.

Air conditioners are not explicitly on a list of “special needs” that people on income assistance in the province are eligible for, according to an email from the department.

However, MacDonald noted in her written ruling that Leggett had provided medical information showing how heat could worsen her chronic pain and other health conditions. The adjudicator concluded Leggett met the regulation’s criteria that the item requested — the air conditioner — “is essential for health.”

“The appeal is granted,” wrote the board member. “The department will provide funding to reimburse the appellant for the portable air conditioner as a one-time special need.”

Leggett said in an interview that while she appreciates the decision, she’s hoping for a policy change in which people living in apartments on income assistance can obtain air conditioning without having to fight through similar appeal processes.

She said that for people like her — living on about $1,300 a month in disability income assistance — the cost of purchasing an air conditioner is beyond reach.

“It is a need of every human being, whether they have a disability or health condition or not,” she said.

She added that if the government continues to resist providing cooling to people on income assistance, it will result in the province having to cover the costs of emergency transport and of medical conditions made worse by extreme heat.

The decision noted that, “since borrowing the money to purchase an air conditioner, the appellant (Leggett’s) health has improved.”

On the provincial election campaign, two of the main parties’ leaders said they supported Leggett’s request for the policy change, while Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston, whose party is far ahead in recent polls, said he would consider it if re-elected Nov. 26.

Houston told reporters on Nov. 5, “through the Department of Community Services, there are different programs for cellphones, there’s additional money for medical conditions and dietary requirements. That (air conditioning) would be something … we should look at and we’d be happy to look at that.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said in an email, “What happened to Julie Leggett is unacceptable. She should not have had to fight the government over this, but we are glad she won her case.”

“The NDP has previously called for air conditioning in long-term care and government-owned seniors buildings.”

Zach Churchill, leader of the Liberal Party, told reporters last week, “those things (air conditioning) should be made available for them, particularly if it is an issue of life and death or a major health issue in a period of intense heat or cold,” he said.

Vince Calderhead, a lawyer who has represented people in appeals before the board, said in an email its findings are not binding for other cases, but can have an influence.

“Should a similar case arise, the department wouldn’t be bound by the decision though it ought to give it due consideration in its administration of the legislation,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2024.