Essex County farmer Brendan Byrne says he started this week getting his hands dirty, harvesting soybeans on his farm. However, those crops may be left to rot immediately after they have grown.
It's all because of the St. Lawrence Seaway workers' strike which saw more than 350 lock workers walk off the job this weekend. The Seaway links the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The key point of contention is wages.
"Because of this strike, within days, I may not have a market for my grain as it has nowhere to go. At that point, we could see Ontario grain farmers with grain sitting and rotting with nowhere to go," said Byrne.
Byrne also serves as the chair for the Grain Farmers of Ontario — the province’s largest commodity organization, representing Ontario’s 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean and wheat farmers.
"A lot of countries, and a lot of people across Canada, depend on our grain for their families or their businesses," Byrne said, adding a resolution to this dispute needs to be established "as quickly as possible."
"If resolution doesn’t look likely, we need to find ways to let the grain through.”
The strike has also resulted in all shipments being stopped between the Welland Canal. According to the Windsor Port Authority, that means grain from Essex County, as well as Toledo and Thunder Bay, can not reach global markets.
"We are a major shipper of grain to the world ... Grain has a limited shelf life but that won't get past the Welland Canal now," said port authority president and CEO Steve Salmons.
"The world needs our grain. Because of the unfortunate geopolitical situation on the globe, there's a huge demand for grain. We have a huge supply. Market prices are high so it couldn't be a better time for farmers. They need the Seaway open."
While the strike may be a nuisance to grain exports, it can also negatively affect Windsor's ability to import steel from around the world.
"A lot of plate steel comes in, a lot of specialty coils and steel blends. Those are all coming in here largely for automotive use," said Salmons.
In a statement, Stellantis said the Seaway strike has not affected operations at the Windsor Assembly Plant or the construction site of the NextStar Energy EV battery plant.
"As of now, there is no impact to our business. We are continuing to monitor the situation," said Stellantis spokesperson Lou Ann Gosselin.
Steel is also a major part of road construction projects throughout Windsor, according to the Windsor Port Authority.
However, the city's operations manager said his team is already wrapping up work for this season.
"All of our material has already been delivered so there's really no disruption for this season," said Phong Nguy.
A marine job fair, featuring public tours of the HMCS Glace Bay vessel, was set to take place at Dieppe Gardens in Windsor between Oct. 25 and Oct. 28.
However, the job fair might be cancelled after the vessel "did not clear in time" due to the ongoing Seaway strike, according to harbour master Peter Barry.
