Truckers’ strike at Vancouver port hurting trade: Harper

VANCOUVER – Prime Minister Stephen Harper is taking aim at striking truckers at Vancouver’s port, accusing them of blocking important trade for Canada.

Harper is in B.C. after a trip to South Korea to sign a free trade deal, and the strike came up during a friendly question-and-answer session in front of a business audience in Vancouver.

Roughly 1,400 unionized and non-unionized truckers, who don’t work directly for the port, are on strike in a dispute that has largely focused on wages.

Harper says he’s concerned about the strike, which he says is affecting a major trade corridor.

He says it’s not acceptable for what he described as a small number of people to be blocking important trade for British Columbian and Canadian businesses.

Last week, the federal government appointed an experienced labour mediator to conduct an independent review aimed at resolving issues of disruptions in trucking operations and report back by May 30.