With the 'final offer' refused there's no clear path forward to end refinery lockout

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“There’s not really a lot that it has, even reverting to those tactics (such as the blockades used this winter) they’ll just get fined. If they break an injunction they’ll get jailed,” she said.

“They don’t really have much leverage.”

Fudge suggested that without the province taking a stronger stance and intervening to get the union members back into the refinery, it appears to be in the company’s corner.

“It appears that the government is accepting the employer’s decision, which looks like it wants to break the union,” she said.

When asked to comment on the lockout and the next steps the government could take, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety said, “At this time we will not be doing an interview.”

On Wednesday, the premier said he would be asking the labour minister to reach out to both sides.

alsalloum@postmedia.com