B.C. ports dispute could lead automakers to send cars elsewhere, says Victoria dealer
John Kot, the president of the Kot Auto Group, which owns nine car dealerships across B.C., including three on Vancouver Island, says his business is one of thousands that are reeling from news that B.C. port workers are still off the job.
“It’s been pretty dramatic for us. There’s literally thousands and thousands of cars sitting at the port that customers can’t take delivery of that have been waiting for months,” Kot said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, longshore workers were back on the picket lines, after the union's leadership rejected a tentative deal, saying it was for too many years and didn't pay members enough.
On Wednesday, federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan called the new strike illegal. The union responded by issuing a new 72-hour strike notice, which it retracted later in the day.
By Wednesday evening, the union and its employer still weren’t at the negotiating table, as cargo continued to pile up in Nanaimo and at 30 ports across B.C., including Vancouver, where 15,000 Hyundai vehicles are waiting for their owners.
Dealers worry there may be long-term ripple effects as the job action has already disrupted about $10-billion in trade since July 1.
“The risk to us in Canada [is] losing production from the manufacturer, because manufacturers want these cars delivered to customers, so if we don’t get it resolved, the manufacturer might send them to the States,” said Kot.
In the short term, even if manufacturers don't send future business elsewhere, customers are already waiting up to nine months for electric cars and could face longer waits. Businesses have already lost sales and employees may lose their jobs, said Kot.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.