WINNIPEG, Man. – Canadian National (CN) Railway president, Paul Tellier, visited Winnipeg yesterday where he was met by an angry mob of railway workers.

About 70 employees were on hand to protest working conditions and the Americanization of the railway. They also accuse CN of ignoring Department of Transport guidelines, and insist that CN only reported 11 of its 33 most recent derailments to the Transportation Safety Board.

Tellier retorted that the accusations are “horseshit” and went on to say, “We are the safest railroad in North America, whether you are talking accidents or injuries, this year is better than last year and last year was better than the year before.”

Union representative Bruce Willows blasted back, “If CN hopes to attain their ranking in respect to safety in the industry, they had better return to the point in time when they had some respect of the regulation and safety environment in Canada.”

Tellier hinted that laziness is behind the complaints. “We’re asking them to give eight hours of work for eight hours of pay,” he says. n