On Day 3, small companies prepare for holiday losses due to the Canada Post strike.

Small business owners say the walkout could not have happened at a worse moment as Canada Post employees go on strike for a third day. Based on the month-long postal strike his company faced in 2018, Tillsonburg, Ontario-based model train vendor Lorne James predicts he may lose $10,000 per day in online sales. With the passage of back-to-work legislation in late November of that year, the walkout came to an end. James noted that for packages to arrive in time for Christmas, the internet shipping season is coming to an end in two weeks.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s vice-president of national relations, Jasmin Guenette, stated that consumers who would often purchase directly from small businesses would instead resort to online retailers like Amazon. On Saturday, the minister’s spokesperson reaffirmed that Peter Simpson, a special mediator, is available to assist in negotiations.

According to James, the postal service delivers roughly 85% of the packages he sells. For local delivery, he started utilizing Canpar Express, UPS, and FedEx after researching other options approximately six weeks ago. However, they can charge three times the shipping rate for foreign orders, which he considers “cost prohibitive. “The shop uses Canada Post entirely to ship out 35 shipments every day on average.

A More Competitive Business Model?

Although CUPW has some negotiating power due to holiday spending, Steven Tufts, a labor expert and associate professor at York University in Toronto, told Network on Friday that the real problem is this: What should the future business model of a company that has lost money in the last six years look like?

According to him, Canada Post’s primary business model is letter delivery, but over the past 15 to 20 years, volume has dropped by more than 50%, thus parcel deliveries are now prioritized to make up the difference. 

Amazon used a variety of subcontracted businesses to deliver packages through extremely complex networks using computer-aided artificial intelligence to ensure smooth transactions as it increased its package delivery services, particularly during the pandemic, according to Tufts.

He claimed that the fact that those employees are paid less than those at Canada Post makes it difficult to replicate Amazon’s strategy.

Due to the ongoing Canada Post strike, Service Canada is holding 85,000 passports.

85,000 passports have not yet been mailed by Service Canada because of the Canada Post labor conflict. A week before Canada Post employees went on strike, Employment and Social Development Canada stated that Service Canada halted mailing passport packages on November 8 “in anticipation of a potential labor disruption.”

 On November 15, tens of thousands of postal workers went on strike over pay, working conditions, and other issues, and Canada Post ceased mail delivery nationwide. If a Canadian has already applied and needs a passport immediately, they should call the Passport Program at 1-800-567-6868 or request in person that their passport be transferred to a Service Canada location that provides pick-up service.

The Passport Program is urging Canadians who have already applied and urgently need a passport to call 1-800-567-6868 or request in person to have their passport transferred to a Service Canada location that provides pick-up service.

A new passport is what I’m waiting for. Will the postal still deliver it?

According to Service Canada, those who did not pay for the pickup service would see a delay in passport delivery due to the labor interruption. “Those who applied by mail and need a passport right away can phone the call center or go in person to a passport office. We might be able to move their application to a Service Canada facility with pickup service, depending on the circumstances,” the agency stated in a statement.