The Government of Saskatchewan weighed in Friday on Unifor’s latest plan to end the lockout at the Co-op refinery in Regina.

On Thursday, the union issued a statement in which it laid out a plan — the key point of which was asking the province to appoint a mediator with the power to implement a binding settlement.

On Friday, Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Don Morgan issued a statement that addressed the union’s request.

“What Unifor is now proposing is effectively binding arbitration by another name,” Morgan wrote. “Binding arbitration is a mechanism available in any labour dispute in Saskatchewan if both sides agree to it. The government cannot impose it under the existing legislation.”

Premier Scott Moe on Monday offered to appoint a special mediator — an offer that Morgan said still stands, provided the union removed the blockades at the refinery.

The Regina Police Service started that process Friday morning.

“This dispute now has the potential to not only affect the Saskatchewan economy, but the safety and security of Saskatchewan families,” Morgan wrote. “While Unifor members have the right to take legal job action, they do not have the right to erect illegal blockades.

“We continue to encourage all parties to respect the law and we continue to expect the Regina Police Services to enforce the law.”

Morgan reiterated the government’s desire that the dispute be settled at the bargaining table, with or without the help of the special mediator.

He pointed out the success special mediators have had in Saskatchewan, including the work done during a dispute between the teachers and the provincial government in 2011 and negotiations between the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses and the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations in 2016.

In a media release, NDP Leader Ryan Meili called on Moe to introduce binding arbitration legislation.

“If the Premier is willing to introduce fair and balanced legislation, New Democrats would work to pass this legislation in one day,” Meili said.

“This dispute needs to end, and it has become clear that a resolution will not be found at the bargaining table or through mediation. This lockout has taken a huge toll on our economy and on people in our province.”

Meili said Moe’s offer of a special mediator “is too little, too late and will not lead to resolution.”

The refinery locked out its unionized employees on Dec. 5 after Unifor Local 594 issued strike notice. The dispute has featured blockades at Co-op properties across Western Canada, arrests on the picket line in Regina, court appearances seeking injunctions, and a $100,000 fine against the union for contempt of court.