Canada’s Food Professor says it’s only a matter of time before we begin to see prices at the grocery store rise following the dual lockout of CN and CPKC rail workers.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at Dalhousie University, says a prolonged shutdown of Canada’s rails could impact retail prices, as it has already affected wholesale prices.

He adds that for the last four months, food inflation has been below 2.5 per cent, but the lockout could jeopardize that streak for both August and September.

On the bright side, he suspects many Canadian food manufacturing companies planned ahead, pre-bought ingredients and secured services from trucking companies to deliver their goods.

This would lessen the impact the lockout has on their industry, something that grain producers don’t have the luxury of doing.

“For farmers, it’s devastating. Rails are the only access they have to the markets. Trucking really makes them less competitive. Also, it could impact the quality of their grains, as well. So, especially right now, this shut down cannot happen at a worse time for our farming community.”

Because Canada exports a large portion of its good, and many countries depend on them, Charlebois says our international partners will feel the effects of the lockout as well.

“You have to think about Canada as a global player, especially in the case of Saskatchewan. With the shutdown, you have to look at this through a food security lens. The shutdown is not just about the economy, but it becomes an international or global food security issue.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will have more to say “shortly” on what it’s doing “to make sure that the right solution is found quickly for the economy.”