‘Not again’: Maritime businesses brace for Canada Post strike impact

Canada Post workers began picketing Monday for a second time this year.

As the second Canada Post strike is underway, Maritime businesses are bracing for potential impacts.

Saundria Rolle, the owner of Sunlight Design and Co., says her first thoughts were “not again,” after learning of the work stoppage.

“We heavily rely on reliable delivery, especially when competing against big box stores…so with the strike now happening again for the second time within the year, it’s very, very challenging,” says Rolle.

Workers walked off the job Thursday after Ottawa announced door-to-door mail delivery will end for nearly all Canadian households in the coming years.

The union representing workers calls the move an “attack.”

Rolle says she’s concerned about its impact on her businesses, remembering its effect on her ability to ship her handmade products during the first postal strike.

“Its very challenging, especially when customers are looking to have their products, like we ship across Canada…So, there’s someone that wants something in British Columbia. How am I going to get that to (them) in a timely manner?”

John Connors, the owner of East Coast Kicks, a sneaker store in Dartmouth, says he decided to stop doing business with Canada Post, and switch to another courier, after issues with the first strike.

“A big thing for us is getting the packages to people. And if we can’t rely on them to get them the packages, it’s kind of useless for us to use at this point,” says Connors.

“I’m not even as affected as most businesses are. We don’t ship a million packages a day…and even at my small scale, it affects me quite a bit. So I can only imagine how much it’s affecting, like bigger scale shipping companies.”

Canada Post says Canadians should expect delays, as thousands of mail and parcels are no longer being processed or delivered.

“I don’t blame them. I understand it. Trust me, it’s annoying,” says Halifax resident, Andrea Oh.

“Hopefully their voices are heard and that it comes to a resolution quickly because I think in the end, we want everybody to get what they deserve, including businesses that rely on them to do their job,” she says.

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