Iranian man can’t visit wife, passport stuck in Canada Post storage

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Farzam Hassani should have been on a plane Wednesday afternoon, bound for Italy and a much-anticipated reunion with his wife after a year apart.

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Instead, the Iranian immigrant is stuck in Toronto not knowing when he’ll see his wife, Sepideh, next and he blames Canada Post for a lack of empathy, foresight and willingness to assist in his plight.

The 34-year-old finds himself unable to leave the country because his passport and visa are stranded in one of the Crown corporation’s storage facilities and, despite his best efforts, he’s not been able to secure their release.

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“I want to express my anger and frustration not only about being unable to visit my wife after a year of separation and all the troubles and cancellation penalties this has caused me, but also because this situation was completely avoidable,” Farzam told the National Post via WhatsApp.

Christmas reunion on hold due to Canada Post strike

Farzam came to Canada in 2023 as a temporary resident on a three-year work permit. Unfortunately, Sepideh’s application was rejected, forcing her husband to move here alone. Thankfully, his entire family – including his parents, sister, grandmother, and uncles – and many friends already call Canada home – “some for more than 25 years,” he noted.

He’s not sure why his wife’s application was rejected.

Regardless, the pair made plans to get together this Christmas in Italy where Sepideh enjoys permanent residency, having completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art there.

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Iranians seeking to visit Italy are required to submit their passport and other documents to an Italian consulate for approval, after which they’ll send it back or ask you to pick it up.

Farzam brought his papers to the consulate in Toronto on Nov. 6 and assumed he would receive his documents within two weeks. He said he was not offered the chance to pick it up at the consulate.

When Canada Post went on strike Nov. 15, Farzam followed up with the consulate and learned that his documents had been sent to the nearest Toronto post office the day prior.

“I went there in person, hoping to retrieve it, but they informed me that it had already been sent to a warehouse or some unknown location. They said there was nothing they could do about it until the strike ends.”

Farzam said support team members he spoke with referred him to the latest on negotiations with the union.

“This answer has felt dismissive and inadequate, especially given the personal stakes involved,” he said.

In his view, Canada Post put its “internal goals over the needs of individuals who depend on them” when it accepted the “critical, time-sensitive documents” on the cusp of a labour issue bringing mail and package delivery to a virtual standstill.

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“At the very least, they could have restricted the acceptance of important documents before the strikes.

‘Everything is uncertain now, thanks to Canada Post’

As for why the couple chose not to meet in Iran, Farzam says it’s for the same reason they chose to leave the Middle Eastern country to begin with: the ever-present threat of war.

“My wife and I had our own travel agency in Iran, and we could have lived happily together without moving to another country if the circumstances had been different,” said Farzam

Sepideh, he said, is safe in Italy at this time, with efforts to secure her Canadian visa through his sponsorship already underway. In the long run, both hope to become Canadian citizens.

But when they’ll manage to see one another again, Farzam is entirely unsure. He works as a travel agent and their trip was planned to coincide with the slow season.

“Our decision to replan the travel depends on when I will finally receive my passport, how long my (Italian) visa will be, and whether I can take a week off for vacation, which might be impossible even until next year,” he said.

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“Everything is uncertain now, thanks to Canada Post.”

The National Post contacted the mail carrier for comment on the matter and was emailed a statement.

“This is a difficult situation and we sympathize, but unfortunately (Canadian Union of Postal Worker’s) decision to launch a national strike means mail and parcels were trapped in the system without warning to customers.

As Farzam was informed, mail will stay put until the labour impasse ends, at which time it’ll go out “on a first-in, first-out basis.”

“However, the national strike will continue to impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends,” the email stated.

Canada Post said it presented a new framework for reaching agreements over the weekend to the CUPW, which said it needs to see key issues like wages and the expansion of postal services addressed before it can make a deal.

One of the key issues in bargaining has been the push to expand delivery to weekends, as the two sides disagree over how best to make it happen.

— With files from the Canadian Press

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