Scheer not first choice
Conservatives in northwest B.C. eventually got their man, but he wasn’t their first choice.
Andrew Scheer, 38, was elected to the helm of the Conservative Party of Canada on Saturday at a leadership convention in Toronto, narrowly beating Maxime Bernier.
Nationally, Scheer, the Saskatchewan MP from Regina-Qu’Appelle and former Speaker of the House of Commons, garnered 50.95 per cent of the ranked votes in the 13th round to Bernier’s 49.05.
In Round 1, Conservative party members from Skeena-Bulkley Valley voted 24.05 per cent in favour of the more moderate Bernier with the social conservative Scheer capturing 23.37 per cent of the first place votes. It wasn’t until Round 9 with the exit of Pierre Lemieux did Scheer take over the lead in Skeena-Bulkley Valley — a lead he wouldn’t relinquish. By the final ballot, Round 13, Scheer received 58.59 per cent while Bernier finished with 41.41 per cent of northwest B.C. vote.
CN workers reach tentative deal
The union representing approximately 3,000 CN Rail employees has reached a tentative deal with the company’s management after threatening job action, reported the Globe and Mail mid-Monday.
“An agreement in principle has been reached. We’re working on the final language at this point,” Doug Finnson, president of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, told the Globe and Mail, with the outlet adding that a CN source has confirmed the tentative deal.
The union had issued a 72 hour strike notice on Saturday.
The Teamsters union represents 3,000 conductors, train and yard workers. The previous collective agreement between CN and the union was reached in 2014.