British Columbia port workers announced that they will resume their strike as early as Saturday, after their work was deemed illegal on Tuesday, and they were ordered to return to work on Wednesday morning.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union of British Columbia provided the Maritime Employers Association with a 72-hour strike notice starting at 9 AM Pacific Time on Saturday.

The Maritime Employers Association said, "The strike that halted cargo movement for 13 days at the beginning of the month was unnecessary and reckless."

Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in Canada returned to the picket lines on Tuesday afternoon after the union rejected a preliminary deal mediated by said it did not address workers' cost-of-living issues.

This strike led Federal Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan to describe the renewed strike as illegal after the Canadian Industrial Relations Board ruled on Wednesday morning that it was illegal.

According to the "Industrial Relations Board" decision, the union did not provide the required notice 72 hours before the strike.

The board's decision ordered union members to return to work and the union to rescind the previous strike notice, which the union argued was legal because the strike was ongoing.

The union states, "The new notice now means that the strike will officially resume around 9 AM on Saturday," noting that it offered a fair and balanced deal, and that the renewal of the strike means the union is "doubling down on its efforts to hold the Canadian economy hostage."

Ottawa attempted to intervene to end the strike amid disruptions, as more than 7,400 workers from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union originally left their jobs from July 1 to July 13 due to issues including ports, outsourcing, and rising living costs.

O'Regan and Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra said, "Workers and employers across Canada cannot face further disruption, and they are exploring all options."

The ministers stated that they had exercised patience and respected the collective bargaining process, but they needed to operate the ports.

The ministers said in a joint statement, "The agreement presented to both parties was the result of a constructive and objective collective bargaining process."

We represented a fair and balanced deal, informed by weeks of collective bargaining and crafted by third-party mediators for the benefit of both the union and the employer.

The strike has led to the freezing of billions of dollars in shipments coming in and out of ports, including at Canada's busiest port in Vancouver.