(Reuters) – Canadian National Railway will relocate its operations from Jasper, a town in the province of Alberta, to Hinton, about 100 kilometers away, said the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference in a statement.
The popular tourist town, which is vulnerable to wildfires, was ravaged by one in late July. Nearly a third of Jasper’s structures were destroyed, with some 25,000 people forced to evacuate.
“This is another devastating blow to the town of Jasper, after this year’s catastrophic wildfires,” said Paul Boucher, union president.
At over 130,000 members, Teamsters Canada is the country’s largest transportation and supply chain union.
The relocation to Hinton will directly impact around 200 union workers currently living in Jasper, according to the statement.
“Rail is one of the largest industries in Jasper, after tourism, and CN’s move will cripple this community even further,” said Boucher.
The union and Canadian National will negotiate a package for the affected workers, under the terms of their collective agreement.
(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)