Canadians warned to sign up for e-services as Canada Post strike looms

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The Canadian Union of Postal Workers may go on strike Friday. On Tuesday, the union gave a 72-hour strike notice. This means that Canada’s publicly owned mail service will slow its work — or potentially grind to a halt. Here’s what it could mean for Canadians.

What’s happening with the Canada Post strike?

The Canadian Union of Postal workers has given notice of a strike. In a release Tuesday morning, Canada Post said it expects a “rotating” strike, which means some postal workers will still be on the job at various times. It wouldn’t be an all-out work stoppage, but it also wouldn’t be business as usual.

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Some packages would still be moving through the system, but more slowly. Canada Post is warning of mail delivery delays.

If it’s an all-out strike, however, then that would be a shutdown on all mail delivery.

What happens to my bills and paycheques?

In the event of a full-on strike, unless for some reason your bills and paycheques come by private courier, such as Purolator, UPS, DHL or others, you won’t be getting your mail.

In the event of a rotating strike, those bills could arrive, just with delays.

Either way, the best bet is to get those things digitally and not through the physical mail. A variety of institutions are warning customers of this and suggesting they sign up for e-services.

“Please remember that you are required to continue to make regular payments to meet your financial obligations, such as credit cards, loans and mortgages in the event of a Canada Post service disruption,” says a notice on CIBC’s website.

Toronto Hydro had a notice on its website Tuesday morning that urged customers to sign up for e-billing and pre-authorized debit to ensure that bills don’t go missed and unpaid.

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As for paycheques, if they’re still coming in the mail, that could be a problem.

There is, however, one exception. Canada Post workers will continue to deliver government financial assistance to seniors and others who need it, if they’re coming from “eligible and participating government organizations.”

What about my packages?

It’ll depend a little bit on what shipping service a business uses.

For example, sporting goods retailer Sport Chek has a notice up on its website that says deliveries to P.O. boxes and fly-in communities could be affected by a strike. Each week, Canada Post has 280 flights to remote parts of the country to deliver mail and also assists other carriers in delivering packages and mail.

But Canadians in other areas will be less affected, as private couriers operate in those regions. For some businesses, shipping prices may go up if they are forced to use alternate carriers, and those prices could be passed along to consumers — especially with the holiday season coming up.

Canada Post, in its release, said its parcel volumes last week declined by 28 per cent compared to this time last year as Canadians and businesses turn to other competitors to ensure their packages get delivered.

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Does Canada Post have a backup plan?

Lisa Liu, a spokesperson with Canada Post, wrote in an email that “Canada Post does not intend to cease any of its operations at this time.”

Liu also said they were not considering bringing in replacement workers. “We have every intention of maintaining operations and service with our employees,” Liu said.

With additional reporting by Grace Martin 

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