Port Metro Vancouver officials worry about losing work to faster American ports.
The Port’s problems are typical of the productivity issues confronting Canada. Facing fierce competition from the United States, Port Metro Vancouver is in the early stages of a makeover aimed at radically increasing its efficiency and opening up an important but little-noticed bottleneck in the Canadian economy. Despite sometimes tense labour relations at the port, it’s an initiative that both management and unions say is vital.
“You can’t have a container sitting on the dock for a week if Americans can get it off in a day or two,” said Mark Keserich, president of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 500. “We’re in different times. Containers can go through any port. Nobody wants to see the work go to an American terminal.”