The federal government wanted Canada含羞草研究社檚 trains moving again and Canada含羞草研究社檚 two national railways have responded.

In the wake of a federal push for binding arbitration, Canadian National announced today that effective 3 p.m. Pacific time it had ended its lockout and immediately initiated its recovery plan.

CN said that while it is disappointed that a negotiated deal could not be achieved at the bargaining table, it is ending its lockout in order to expedite the recovery of the economy.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City, meanwhile, says it含羞草研究社檚 preparing to restart operations and will provide further details about timing once it receives an order from the board about the arbitration.

The announcements came shortly after Ottawa stepped in to get freight trains moving again hours after an unprecedented lockout by the country含羞草研究社檚 two largest railways brought cross-country freight traffic to a standstill.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, using his Labour Code powers, asked for binding arbitration to resolve the dispute.

MacKinnon said he couldn含羞草研究社檛 say when trains will start moving and the disruption will end for business and for thousands of commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

含羞草研究社淚f you含羞草研究社檙e sensing any lack of clarity on that from me it含羞草研究社檚 because there含羞草研究社檚 an independent agency tribunal involved here who must follow their own process,含羞草研究社� MacKinnon said Thursday.

含羞草研究社淥bviously, I含羞草研究社檓 acting at a very early stage here and hoping they will act with similar dispatch. I assume that the trains will be running within days but, again, I want to be deferential to the process that will unfold here.含羞草研究社�

MacKinnon said he has asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose final, binding arbitration in the dispute involving the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union, Canadian National Railway Co., and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.

MacKinnon said he has also asked the board to order the railways to resume operations under the terms of the current collective agreements until new deals are in place.

He said the collective bargaining process is the best way to resolve such disputes, but the lockout is affecting all Canadians.

含羞草研究社淢illions of Canadians rely on our railways every day,含羞草研究社� MacKinnon said.

含羞草研究社淭he impacts cannot be understated and they extend to every corner of this country.含羞草研究社�

MacKinnon said the Liberal government will also examine the underlying reasons for the work stoppage.

含羞草研究社淚t is the government含羞草研究社檚 responsibility to ensure industrial peace in this critically vital sector. Thus we will be examining why we experience repeated conflicts in the railway sector and the conditions that led to the parallel work stoppages we are seeing.含羞草研究社�

Just after midnight Thursday, the two rail carriers locked out close to 10,000 employees, including engineers, conductors, dispatchers and yard workers after the two sides failed to agree to a new contract. CPKC workers began a strike at the same time, said MacKinnon.

Each side has accused the other of failing to negotiate seriously. Both railways had called for binding arbitration, which the union has rejected.

含羞草研究社淲e believe that this thing has to be settled at the bargaining table,含羞草研究社� Teamsters Canada president Fran莽ois Laporte told reporters in Montreal earlier Thursday.

含羞草研究社淲e don含羞草研究社檛 believe in letting a third party decide what含羞草研究社檚 going to be the working conditions of these people for the next two, three, four, five years.含羞草研究社�

Rail workers from Halifax to Vancouver set up picket lines on Thursday morning, while sign-toting employees demonstrated outside CN含羞草研究社檚 headquarters in downtown Montreal and CPKC含羞草研究社檚 head office in Calgary.

Railways ship about $1 billion in goods each day, says the Railway Association of Canada. Most of the 180,000-plus railcars that CN and CPKC haul weekly 含羞草研究社� moving everything from cars to clothes, computers, wheat and fertilizer 含羞草研究社� were already sidelined by Wednesday under a phased wind-down that began last week.

Credit rating agency Moody含羞草研究社檚 warned the work stoppage would cost the Canadian economy $341 million per day, with agriculture, forestry and manufacturing among the hardest-hit sectors.

The impasse also affected about 32,000 commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver whose lines run on CPKC-owned tracks. Passenger trains cannot roll along those rails without the 80 locked-out traffic controllers to dispatch them.

Pressure from industry and government to resolve the impasse has been mounting for weeks, with the calls intensifying once the work stoppage kicked off.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had called on both sides to work out a deal at the bargaining table.

The Teamsters represent 6,000 CN workers and 3,300 CPKC workers. The two companies typically hammer out new deals with employees a year apart. But in 2022, CN asked for a yearlong extension to the current collective agreement, moving the bargaining periods into lockstep.

The union has said both companies were pushing to weaken protections around rest periods and scheduling. CN also aims to implement a 含羞草研究社渞elocation scheme含羞草研究社� that would see some employees move to far-flung locations for several months at a time to fill labour gaps, the Teamsters say.

CN said it has negotiated in good faith over the past nine months, offering better pay, improved rest and more predictable schedules.

The effects of the work stoppage have rippled beyond Canada含羞草研究社檚 borders.

U.S. railways have had to turn away Canada-bound shipments. American shippers also rely on Canada含羞草研究社檚 two main railways, whose tracks run to the Gulf of Mexico and, in CPKC含羞草研究社檚 case, to terminals in southern Mexico.

Meanwhile, Canadian ports have feared containers would pile up on the docks as cargo goes unmoved, prompting some carriers to reroute to U.S. terminals.

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