Regina city council votes to ask province to resolve Co-op refinery labour dispute

Regina city council has voted to urge the provincial government to step into the labour dispute that has been going on between Unifor and the local Co-op refinery since December.

The motion specifically requests that, "the Provincial Government [uses] all of the tools at its disposal, up to and including legislation that allows for binding third party binding arbitration, to secure an equitable resolution to the dispute between the parties."

It was amended to also say that the recommendations made by mediator Vince Ready could be used as a solution.

On Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe said he would not reconvene the legislature to deal with this issue. 

"If that was to be done, that would be unprecedented in the province's history," Moe said Wednesday during a newsconference. "This is a private-sector labour dispute."

Moe said that Labour Minister Don Morgan has been reaching out to both sides.

Mayor Michael Fougere was the only one to vote against the motion. He said he thinks it sets a precedent that other disputes of this nature can come to council, when the city doesn't have jurisdiction. He said the motion is largely symbolic anyway and that council shouldn't use emotion or the perceived moral argument to make the decision. 

Fougere said he would have preferred a statement issued by council saying they urge both sides to get back to the table and not stop until they have a deal. 

All councillors were present except Sharron Bryce.

The motion was originally put forward by Andrew Stevens. He said the city had received hundreds of emails about the issue in the last few months. He did say the two parties reaching a settlement on their own would be ideal.