CN REACHES TENTATIVE LABOUR AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED TRANSPORTATION UNION IN CANADA

MONTREAL, Feb. 14, 2005 — CN and the United Transportation Union (UTU) announced today that they have signed a tentative labour contract covering approximately 2,600 conductors, assistant conductors, yard service employees and traffic coordinators in Canada.

Details of the three-year contract, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2004, are being withheld pending ratification by the UTU membership. In general, the agreement provides for wage, benefit and quality of work-life improvements.

E. Hunter Harrison, president and chief executive officer of CN, said: “I am very pleased to have reached this agreement with the UTU after many months of hard work by both sides. Even more so, I'm heartened by the open dialogue and innovation that produced it. This agreement is a winning outcome for CN and the UTU.”

John Armstrong, vice-president of the UTU, said: “We believe this tentative agreement successfully addresses a range of UTU issues, including work-life quality for our members. It was a refreshing and productive bargaining process with management that made this possible. This is a good sign for our future relationship with the company. We're eager to return our focus to what our members do best – moving trains – and ensuring CN remains the leading railroad in North America .”

The United Transportation Union is the largest rail and transportation union in North America with 125,000 members. It represents all of the historical operating crafts as well as yardmasters, bus operators, airline pilots and other transportation workers. For more information, visit the UTU website at www.utu.org.