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Road closure near Co-op Refinery part of police plan to 'make the site safe'

The RPS said the "temporary" road closure is needed to "make the site safe and remove materials (that) could potentially be used to create an illegal barrier."

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Unifor national president Jerry Dias believes the only chance Local 594 has of getting a fair deal at the bargaining table is through binding arbitration.

“The simple reality is: Co-op is very comfortable, that they have a government that really has suggested a special mediator but gave him no powers,” said Dias, at a news conference in Victoria Park on Friday afternoon. Shortly after barricades were built around the refinery on Jan. 20 Dias said the playing field was closer to level, as the pickets were affecting the Co-op Refinery Complex’ (CRC) ability to make money.

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National Unifor president Jerry Dias speaks to members of the media at a news conference held in Victoria Park in Regina, Saskatchewan on Feb. 7, 2020.
National Unifor president Jerry Dias speaks to members of the media at a news conference held in Victoria Park in Regina, Saskatchewan on Feb. 7, 2020. Photo by BRANDON HARDER /Regina Leader-Post
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But late Thursday night police closed 9th Avenue N. from Winnipeg Street to McDonald Street and maintained the closure into Friday, allowing Co-op fuel trucks to pass through a police checkpoint as officers checked the drivers’ names.

Two police cruisers were parked at the intersection of Winnipeg Street and 9th Avenue North on Friday morning. Officers restricted both foot and vehicle traffic through the area. However, reporters on scene observed Co-op fuel trucks pass through the blockade after the drivers’ names were checked by police.

“Vehicles not related to the operation of the businesses in the area will not be permitted,” the Regina Police Service (RPS) said in its release.

By late Friday evening, Unifor pickets could be seen delaying fuel trucks attempting turn onto 9th Avenue North from Winnipeg Street.

Pickets walked around in a circle in the middle of 9th Avenue North as each truck approached them. A representative would then approach the driver and explain the union’s position. 

Trucks were delayed for varying periods, generally a few minutes. In an exchange witnessed by the Leader-Post, they soon allowed the driver to proceed when he asked.

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Lana Payne, Unifor’s secretary-treasurer, said the pickets were fully complying with the December court order limiting delays.

“We decided that the court injunction says we can stop trucks and talk to them up to 10 minutes. That’s our constitutional right to be able to pick it and that’s what we’re doing right here,” said Payne.

But the picket still prompted a small traffic jam as fuel trucks lined up on the off-ramp from Ring Road to Winnipeg Street

Payne faulted police for doing the work of “the boss.”

“Obviously they’re the ones that blocked the gate and this is the only space that we had here to set up our picket line,” she said.

Pickets walking in front of a Co-op fuel truck on 9th Avenue North on Feb. 7, 2020 in Regina.
Pickets walking in front of a Co-op fuel truck on 9th Avenue North on Feb. 7, 2020 in Regina. jpg

The RPS said the “temporary” road closure is needed to “make the site safe and remove materials (that) could potentially be used to create an illegal barrier.”

Police said Friday that pickets would be allowed to walk freely in the area with signage and other informational materials when the area is cleared of structures and debris. Structures such as warming huts, heaters and portable toilets have been a part of the picket line since workers were locked out on Dec. 5.

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Criticizing the RPS action, Dias used the words “police state,” contending if the police were following the court’s orders, there was no wording specifying heaters, warming structures and toilets had to be removed from public property.

“It is crystal clear that the police are an arm of the corporation,” Dias charged — an allegation the RPS has consistently denied. “It is a complete coordinated effort to shut down the picket line to ensure that the Co-op refinery can continue the lockout.”

According to police, the action is “part of a plan to restore a safe physical environment” that will “support peaceful, lawful and safe picketing by members of Unifor Canada, Local 594 and their supporters, in accordance with the Dec. 24, 2019 Queen’s Bench Court Order by Justice J. McMurtry.”

It’s a move celebrated by Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) that said the “removal of the illegal barricades” means emergency services and fuel trucks have access to the refinery site.

Fences erected by police, coupled with cruisers, effectively prevented any foot or car traffic from entering the area.

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Scott Doherty, lead negotiator and assistant to Unifor’s national president, said no union members were allowed to return to their picket lines after police blocked off part of the road around 11 p.m. Thursday.

Doherty said Co-op security guards took down barricades erected by the union. As a response, all pickets have relocated to Unifor’s central barricade at Gate 7.

“Co-op has full access to the refinery. We’re not entirely sure from RPS if our members try and walk through their barricade to get to the various gates, that we’re legally allowed to be picketing at, that they’re not going to be arrested,” Doherty said Friday morning.

In an emailed statement, Dias said, “Blocking access to picket locations at the bidding of Co-op Refinery is a clear violation of Charter rights.”

Doherty said all of this could have been avoided if the government returned the union’s calls on Thursday, the same day the two sides met in Regina’s Court of Queen’s Bench for a marathon contempt of court hearing. The judge has reserved decision.

In a news release sent Friday, Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Don Morgan reiterated the government’s position to appoint a special mediator, “contingent on the removal of the illegal blockades,” is still on the table.

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“This dispute now has the potential to not only affect the Saskatchewan economy, but the safety and security of Saskatchewan families,” Morgan said in the release.

“While Unifor members have the right to take legal job action, they do not have the right to erect illegal blockades. We continue to encourage all parties to respect the law and we continue to expect the Regina Police Services to enforce the law.”

But Unifor has a counter proposal. While its plan included the prospect of an immediate end to the pickets, it also called for the immediate departure of replacement workers and a mediator with the power to issue a binding settlement.

Both points are terms the company has rejected in the past.

CRC spokesman Brad DeLorey said the company will not negotiate while barricades remain in place, even with police opening up access to the refinery.

NDP leader Ryan Meili called on Premier Scott Moe to recall the legislature to bring in legislation that would allow for binding arbitration to take place.

“If the Premier is willing to introduce fair and balanced legislation, New Democrats would work to pass this legislation in one day, said Meili in an emailed statment. “This dispute needs to end.”

— with files from Mark Melnychuk and Arthur White-Crummey

alsalloum@postmedia.com

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Regina Police Service officers approach a Co-op fuel truck stopped in front of their controlled checkpoint at the intersection of Winnipeg Street and 9th Avenue North on Feb. 7, 2020.
Regina Police Service officers approach a Co-op fuel truck stopped in front of their controlled checkpoint at the intersection of Winnipeg Street and 9th Avenue North on Feb. 7, 2020. Photo by BRANDON HARDER /Regina Leader-Post
Regina Police Service officer returns identification to a Co-op fuel truck driver stopped in front of their controlled checkpoint at the intersection.
Regina Police Service officer returns identification to a Co-op fuel truck driver stopped in front of their controlled checkpoint at the intersection. Photo by BRANDON HARDER /Regina Leader-Post
Members of the Regina Police Service completely shut down 9th Avenue N. from Winnipeg Street to McDonald Street in Regina on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020.
Members of the Regina Police Service completely shut down 9th Avenue N. from Winnipeg Street to McDonald Street in Regina on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. Photo by TROY FLEECE /Regina Leader-Post
The road closure started late Thursday night.
The road closure started late Thursday night. Photo by TROY FLEECE /Regina Leader-Post
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