Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon called on CN Rail and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) as well as the Canadian Trucking Conference to "do the necessary hard work" to prevent a potential railway shutdown on Thursday that could have a multi-billion dollar economic impact.

In a new statement released on Monday, MacKinnon did not indicate that the federal government would be willing to intervene in the collective bargaining negotiations.

MacKinnon stated, "These collective bargaining negotiations involve workers at Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, and TCRC alone—but their effects will be felt by all Canadians."

Negotiations between CN, CPKC, and the truck drivers continued over the weekend with no signs of progress.

Late on Sunday, the truck drivers issued a press release stating that workers would walk off the job at 12:01 AM Eastern Time on Thursday unless an agreement is reached between the two parties. CN later issued its own special notice that it intends to shut down operations unless an agreement or binding arbitration is reached.

The labor agreements for both railway companies expired at the end of 2023.

The union alleges that CPKC wants to "void the collective agreement of all critical fatigue safety provisions."

In response, CPKC says it will focus on a "status quo offer" that "does not jeopardize safety in any way."

Meanwhile, the truck drivers claim that CN is demanding extended workdays in the western provinces, which they say will create "safety hazards related to fatigue." They also say that CN is trying to impose a policy of forced relocation.

In a statement last week, CN said it has put four offers on the table since the beginning of the year, claiming that "none of CN's offers have jeopardized safety in any way." According to CN, the union has rejected all offers and made no counter-proposals.

Last week, MacKinnon already rejected CN's request to impose binding arbitration.