[EXCERPT]
It is difficult to quantify what sort of impact the disruption will have economically. But Ken Peacock, chief economist with the Business Council of B.C., said it likely will not be as severe as the anti-pipeline blockades that took place earlier in the year or previous strikes and lockouts during which there was a concern about traffic being diverted to competing ports.
“This is planned. All ports are closing together,” he said.
Still, “The timing is a bit of a concern just because our world is in upheaval and turmoil” due to the fallout from the COVID-19 health crisis, he said.
The council released its updated economic outlook for the province Thursday, which projects a 7.8 per cent contraction in provincial GDP this year.
“B.C.’s export sector will be slammed by the steep global recession that is taking hold around the world,” the report says.
