Vancouver mayor promises more police to quell ‘street disorder’ in Gastown

VANCOUVER – Grain terminal workers picked a “high leverage moment” to go on strike in Metro Vancouver as farmers in Western Canada have an abundance of product to move for export, a food economics and supply chain expert says.

Picket lines went up at six grain terminals in Metro Vancouver on Tuesday as about 600 workers with Grain Workers Union Local 333 began their strike.

University of Guelph food economist Michael von Massow said they represent a small but crucial link in the grain export supply chain.

“If you live in Vancouver, you might drive by these big buildings and not understand how integral they are in the supply chain for western grain primarily,” Massow said.

“If those terminals are not working, you essentially shut off the supply chain for export wheat.”

Massow said it was “relatively smart” for the union to go on strike as farmers have a glut of grain and “get stuck with it” if terminals aren’t accepting shipments for export.

The “immediate pain,” he said, is that millions worth of product doesn’t get shipped, then possible reputational damage as customers may look elsewhere for wheat.

Canada’s labour minister said Tuesday that he spoke with both the employer and union representatives a day earlier, and they agreed to resume contract negotiations alongside federal mediators.

Steven MacKinnon posted the message on the social media platform X, saying Canadian farmers had a “bumper crop” they need to get to market.

Union president Douglas Lea-Smith said the minister’s involvement was a positive step, and a meeting was scheduled for Wednesday between the union and the employer to try to resolve the “impasse” in bargaining.

Lea-Smith said the employer, the Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association, had not “meaningfully engaged” in a dozen days of bargaining ahead of further negotiations with help from the federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

He said the employers’ association has “dragged its feet at bargaining,” giving the union incomplete replies to proposals, while offering a “poor proposal” that the membership didn’t accept.

A statement issued by the Shipping Federation of Canada over the weekend said the union and the association concluded conciliation with help from the federal service on Aug. 26, but could not come to an agreement on a new contract.

Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, said Tuesday that the parties had been in negotiations since last November and the union was “slow-playing it” to time strike action with the fall wheat harvest.

“They managed the clock to bring this all to a head,” he said. “So, we’re right in the middle of harvest, so there’s maximum pressure on the employers to give more in the bargaining process.”

The affected operations include Viterra’s Cascadia and Pacific Terminals, Richardson International Terminal, Cargill Limited Terminal, G3 Terminal Vancouver and Alliance Grain Terminal, all located in Vancouver and North Vancouver.

“But there is no right and wrong in this situation. It’s all about leverage and perspective,” Sobkowich said. “We feel that what we’re offering in terms of wages is very fair.”

He added: “The union obviously disagrees or they wouldn’t be on strike.”

The union has said it provided the employer with a “comprehensive package” last Thursday, but the next day, the association indicated it had no counter offer.

But Lea-Smith said the association released a “full proposal” directly to workers, sidestepping the union.

“They just walked right around us because they believe that we don’t represent our members, even though we’re elected by our members,” he said.

The major sticking point in the negotiations related to time in lieu, he said.

“There are some minor monetary issues, but for the most part, it’s largely over earned time-off days, which we call lieu days,” he said.

Lea-Smith said the employer was trying to remove lieu days, and the strike action would continue in order to apply pressure at the bargaining table.

The lieu days stretch back to binding arbitration in 2002, when the workers moved to an round-the-clock operation, he said.

“Grain workers in 2002, on a pro rata basis, compared to today, earned more money than we do,” he said.

It’s the first time the union local has gone on strike since about 1970, he said.

Sobkowich said the Vancouver Terminal Elevators’ Association, the bargaining unit for the employers, did not “side step the union” and they’re preparing for mediation Wednesday “focusing on getting to a quick resolution.”

Von Massow said the strike highlights relatively unknown “links in a variety of our food supply chains.”

The strike wouldn’t disrupt the domestic food supply, he said, but would affect the supply chains of buyers of Canadian wheat and canola.

“For many of us, it will stay invisible because we’ll hear about this strike, but we won’t feel the implications of it, but grain elevators, grain companies and farmers will feel this almost immediately and feel it quite acutely,” he said. “So yeah, it is these unknown links in the supply chain that can really bung things up relatively quickly.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2024.

WINNIPEG – Cole Perfetti is determined to make the bridge deal that he just signed with the Winnipeg Jets pay off with a more lucrative pact in the future.

The promising forward signed a two-year, US$6.5 million agreement on Monday, and now looks to break through after injuries and inconsistent play hampered his first three NHL seasons.

“You have two more years to prove yourself and go show what you can do on the ice,” Perfetti said after his first practice at the Hockey For All Centre on Tuesday. “I’m going to use this year to try and take a big step with my game and hopefully, play as good as I can for this team and take that next step.

“A bridge deal is all about — I wouldn’t say betting on myself — I would say I have two years to go prove what kind of player you are, what you can do for this organization. That’s my goal every day, to just go and be the best player that I can be and revisit this in two years.”

Perfetti was selected 10th overall by Winnipeg in 2020, but his first two seasons with the Jets were shortened by injuries.

Last year, the forward from Whitby, Ont., scored 19 goals and 38 points in 71 games. But, after a 23-game goalless drought, he became a healthy scratch for the last stretch of the season and the first four playoff games.

“Obviously, I wasn’t too pleased with how it went personally for me down the stretch,” said Perfetti, 22. “Last year, all things considered, was still a pretty decent year. I started off really strong and proved that I can produce in this league.

“Obviously, it didn’t go like that the whole year, but I’m just going to use that as motivation, take the good from it and take the learning curve, and try to be the best that I can be.”

Jets coach Scott Arniel was relieved to have Perfetti back in the fold after the forward, who was a restricted free agent, missed the start of training camp while his deal was being negotiated.

“Last year, he put together a real good, solid season and he’s got to back that up again and be consistent and do that on a nightly basis,” said Arniel, adding that Perfetti is a top-six forward. “I think he recognizes now how he needs to play. He knows now that he’s facing the other teams’ top defencemen and their top forwards.

“Whether it’s with the puck or without it, he has to do things in a quick level, at a high level, and he has the hockey smarts to do that. He’s excited about where he’s going to be.”

Perfetti will not suit up when Winnipeg plays host to the Edmonton Oilers in a pre-season game on Wednesday night, but will play against the Wild in Minnesota on Friday, Arniel said.

Perfetti appreciated the confidence the new Jets coach has shown in him in conversations over the summer.

“It’s great,” he said. “Confidence is huge in this league. When you’re confident in your game, your ability and yourself, you’re going to carry that confidence and swagger onto the ice and you’re going to make more plays. You’re going to feel better on the ice.

“Having that confidence from the get-go is big. It’s huge for the mental side of it and then you’re just going to go out and play your game. The biggest part for me is this year, I’ve got to do my thing.”

That thing will be to remain on the wing on the second line, despite the fact that Perfetti can also play centre.

“He showed last year playing on the wing, I thought he was real good,” Arniel said. “He can play both left and right side. He was actually good on the walls.”

Perfetti’s teammates greeted him with celebratory stick slapping when he first appeared at practice.

“He’s been skating,” said winger Nikolaj Ehlers. “He looks ready. So, it’s exciting to have him back.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 24, 2024.

VANCOUVER – Ali Ahmed always finds an extra gear in these kind of games.

Not only is the Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder preparing for the Canadian Championship final, but Wednesday’s match will also pit him against his hometown team, Toronto FC.

“There is a little bit extra, for sure,” said the 23-year-old, who grew up in Toronto and once trialled with the TFC academy.

“It’s the club that I grew up a huge, huge fan of. Now, it’s crazy to say that they’re my rivals. At the end of the day, it’s another game. But playing against your boyhood club is extra special, for sure.”

The ‘Caps are looking to hoist the Voyagers Cup for the third year in a row, a feat that only one other team has accomplished.

TFC won four times from 2009 through 2012, and three times between 2016 and 2018.

Toronto isn’t focused on spoiling Vancouver’s three-peat, though.

The team would be equally enthusiastic against any opponent as long as there’s a trophy on the line, said head coach John Herdman.

“I think the rivalry piece, it doesn’t matter who’s in front of us. It’s just a cup final,” he said. “For us, it’s just eyes on lifting some silverware for this club.”

For Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, the hate that breeds between clubs is part of what makes soccer special, particularly in Canada.

“It’s beautiful to have a rivalry. It’s beautiful to have someone that on the sports side you don’t like,” he said. “I think that’s the beauty of soccer, this kind of rivalry. And I think the Canadian Championship is kind of an expression of that.”

Vancouver earned its way into the final with a 2-0 aggregate win over Canadian Premier League side Pacific FC in a two-legged semifinal. Toronto edged Forge FC, also of the CPL, 2-2 on away goals.

TFC comes into the final in a similar place the ‘Caps were in back in the 2022 tournament, Sartini said. Both had new coaches and were pushing for playoff spots in Major League Soccer.

The mind frame could make Toronto more dangerous than ever, the coach said.

“I think that tomorrow they will come, I would say, even giving 120 per cent, not 100 per cent,” he said. “So that’s the reason why I think it’s going to be a very open game and I think we need to be on top of our behaviour, on top of our level if we want to win.”

Both sides are coming off league losses, with Toronto dropping a 2-0 decision to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. The L.A. Galaxy doubled up the Whitecaps 4-2 in a result that snapped Vancouver’s five-game unbeaten streak across all competitions.

The ‘Caps are 13-9-7 in Major League Soccer play and currently sit seventh in the Western Conference, while TFC occupies eighth in the East with an 11-17-3 record.

One of Toronto’s losses was a 4-0 drubbing by the Whitecaps in April.

“I think coming into Vancouver last time, it was pretty humbling,” Herdman said. “So I think first things first, coming into a final, those little details need to be right. We’ve been together for a long period of time, I think the team know each other better now and they’ve developed a hunger because they’ve put themselves in this moment.”

TFC was a group that was still trying to find its identity as a team in that April matchup, said captain Jonathan Osorio.

“A lot of time has passed, a lot of games have been played,” he said. “And both teams, I think are at different points now, as far as it comes to rhythm and their form and what they’re fighting for in the league and things like that. It’s going to be a different game.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2024.