Canada's Minister of Labour has stated that he will not intervene in the negotiations to end the strike in the St. Lawrence Seaway. However, those who depend on the transportation of goods through this route argue that there is no time to wait for a resolution, especially when millions of dollars worth of grain are at stake. 
Approximately 360 employees of the government-established St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation have been on strike since Monday after negotiations with representatives of the Unifor labor union broke down. 
Company officials and union representatives are expected to return to the bargaining table on Friday when they meet with federal mediators in Toronto. 
At present, nearly 100 ships, including cargo vessels, have come to a halt along the route between Montreal and Lake Erie. The seaway serves as a crucial link connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
The full Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system, also known as "Highway H2O," serves over 100 ports and commercial docks, facilitating the export of goods from Canada's Prairie provinces and the U.S. Midwest. Key commodities transported through this route include grain, iron ore, petroleum products, stone, and coal.
The strike has already had a detrimental impact on local producers, according to Robert Dalley, the manager of the port in Johnstown, Ontario. Truckloads of soybeans harvested by local farmers continue to be delivered to the port, with approximately 5,500 tonnes arriving every day and being stored inside grain elevators.
Typically, ships are scheduled to arrive once a week to load and transport the supply to buyers, thereby creating more space for storage at the port.

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