(ND AG Connection) – Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd halted operations and locked out workers over a labor dispute early Sunday, with each side blaming the other for a halt that will likely disrupt shipment of key commodities at a time of soaring prices.

“We are very disappointed with this turn of events,” said Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) spokesperson Dave Fulton.

According to Reuters, the union said in a statement that it had begun to strike across the country in the dispute that it says affects 3,000 engineers, conductors, and yard workers.

Canada’s second-biggest railroad operator accused the union of misrepresenting the company’s position, saying in a statement that the Teamsters were “well aware of the damage this reckless action will cause to the Canadian supply chain.”

Minister of Labor Seamus O’Regan Jr said CP and Teamsters were still at the table with federal mediators.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and expect the parties to keep working until they reach an agreement,” he said in a tweet just after midnight.

Canada, the largest country by area after Russia, depends heavily on rail to move commodities and manufactured goods to port.

CP’s network runs across much of southern Canada and extends as far south as Kansas City in the United States.

The lockout is the latest blow to Canada’s battered supply chain, which last year weathered floods in British Columbia that washed out track and suspended access to Canada’s biggest port.