Thousands of Canadian commuters may have to change their travel plans for a second day after a countrywide rail lockout shut down lines in major metropolitan areas.
Bewildered commuters were turned away from shuttered rail lines Thursday, and the agency responsible for GO Transit in Ontario says service will remain down today on the Milton line and at the Hamilton GO station.
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose final, binding arbitration to end the work stoppage.
Canadian National Railway Co. said Thursday evening it had ended its lockout and initiated a recovery plan, while Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. says it's preparing to restart operations.
CPKC also said in a statement the CIRB called an urgent meeting Thursday evening about getting service resumed, but noted the Teamsters union refused to discuss resuming service and wants to make submissions to challenge the constitutionality of MacKinnon's direction.
CN and CPKC locked out workers after they failed to reach a deal on a new contract before a midnight deadline Thursday, the first simultaneous shutdown on Canada's two largest railways.