The latest developments in Canada-U.S. trade have amplified the urgency of Canada’s  push to diversify its trade and build greater resilience at home. Expanding trade relationships is only part of the equation. Our ability to capitalize on those opportunities  and protect our ability to trade with global partners depends on a transportation system that can move goods reliably and competitively. That makes the recurring threat of  disruption at our major trade gateways harder to ignore.

A familiar pattern has emerged in difficult labour negotiations affecting Canada’s transportation system. Talks become strained. The risk of disruption grows. Businesses begin rerouting cargo and adjusting schedules. By the time a work stoppage is looming  or underway, government is left searching for a way to restore certainty.

By that point, we are asking the wrong question. Rather than focusing only on  resolution, we should be asking what could have been done earlier to prevent it.

The stakes are significant. Canada’s maritime employers and operators help move more  than a quarter of the country’s traded goods. For those working across Canada’s ports and gateways, the consequences of uncertainty can begin well before a work stoppage.  Manufacturers, exporters and producers face difficult decisions, while global customers looking for certainty turn to competing routes.

Collective bargaining remains fundamental to Canada’s labour relations system and negotiated agreements should always be the objective. Our current framework does not always give parties enough opportunities to get there before a difficult dispute evolves into a national economic problem.

Stronger mediation is one place to start. A special mediator, brought in once conciliation is underway, could help narrow the issues and give the parties another opportunity to  find common ground. If an agreement still cannot be reached, an independent report  would bring greater transparency to what remains unresolved and create one final  window for bargaining.

Most disputes should end there, with the parties reaching an agreement themselves.  For the exceptional cases that threaten nationally significant supply chains, the next step should not have to be designed in the middle of a crisis. A standing mediation arbitration mechanism would give government a predictable backstop while allowing  bargaining to continue for as long as a negotiated outcome remains possible. Section

107 of the Canada Labour Code should remain available for circumstances that cannot  be anticipated but stronger tools earlier in the process should mean governments need to reach for it less often.

The structure of bargaining itself matters, which is why the Industrial Inquiry  Commission’s recommendation for geographic certification at Canada’s West Coast ports deserves action. A more coherent bargaining structure in an integrated waterfront could help reduce recurring instability and bring greater predictability to future  bargaining cycles.

Technological change is another example of an issue that does not need to become a  source of conflict at the bargaining table. Canada’s ports need to modernize to remain competitive, but that transition also has consequences for the people who work in them.  Federal support for retraining and reskilling can help workers adapt as roles evolve and  make modernization easier to manage for employers and workers alike.

None of these measures is a silver bullet. Combined, they would put the emphasis back on prevention and earlier resolution.

The federal government’s current review of the Canada Labour Code provides an opportunity to implement those changes. With significant maritime negotiations approaching in the coming months, this is not an abstract policy exercise. The next test  is already on the horizon.

As Canada looks to expand its trade opportunities, the reliability of our transportation system matters more than ever. We cannot completely eliminate uncertainty from the global economy, but we can strengthen Canada’s reliability as a trading partner.

The measure of a strong labour relations system is not how quickly government can intervene once a crisis arrives. It is how rarely we need to get there in the first place.

Debbie Murray is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Maritime Group, representing private-sector maritime employers and operators across Canada’s ports and gateways.

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