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“That’s half the speed of the average growth of the G20 so it’s not like were at the top of the table to begin with,” he said. “Then factor in the downgrade for coronavirus, plus this rail situation and it becomes very difficult to see how we achieve even that very modest growth forecast.”

Retailers and food producers warned that an extended strike could lead to shortages of groceries and household products on shelves, and the “spoilage of fresh foods.” While urban centres would not escape the impact, smaller communities would be particularly affected.

“This is not solely a food supply issue,” the Retail Council of Canada and Food and Consumer Products Canada said in a joint statement. “Among the type of goods impacted are items like personal hygiene products, infant formula, fire alarms and the type of cleaning and sanitary products that help deal with concerns about the spread of influenza and other infectious diseases.”

As in other sectors, firms were switching to alternate transportation already in short supply, including trucking, the statement said. But for some goods including bulk agricultural commodities, mining products and hazardous chemicals, trains are the only way to move products.

Chlorine to treat drinking water, jet fuel and chemicals used in de-icing fluid are all particularly dependent on rail.

“When you get into hazardous products like chlorine, you can’t put it on a truck and send it down the 401 (Highway) at 100 km an hour,” said Bob Masterson, chief executive of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada. “These things are very important to public safety and they’re not getting through. So how long can this go on before we are in a crisis? We are dangerously close to finding out the answer to that question.”