OTTAWA — Canada Post is facing a potential labour disruption as of Friday. Here's what you need to know if there's a halt in postal services:
1 — All packages and parcels are already in the system will be stuck there and no new packages or letters will be accepted.
2 — Postal workers will still deliver government pension and benefits, but not all. Federally, Canada Post and the union have agreed to keep delivering cheques for old age security, Canada Pension Plan, the working income tax benefit, the Canada Child Benefit and student loans. In Saskatchewan, child support and victim assistance payments are also set to keep moving. In Alberta, child and spousal support payments and benefits to vulnerable persons are on the delivery list. Ditto for Quebec pension plan cheques. This list is subject to change.
3 — If you haven't or can't sign up for direct deposit for employment insurance, you can call 1-800-206-7218 to ask for a cheque that can be picked up at the nearest Service Canada location.
4 — Passport applications will need to be done in person if you plan to travel in less than six weeks from when you drop off your application. The federal government is recommending anyone who doesn't need to urgently travel should hold off on passport applications for the time being.
5 — Any mail you send the Canada Revenue Agency like tax payments, or that they are supposed to send you like refunds, rebates, benefits aside from the ones deemed essential (see above), won't be delivered. The CRA recommends using their online services instead. All mail will be held at the CRA until postal services resume.
6 — You still have to pay your hydro, water or other bill on time even if it doesn't arrive in the mail.
7 — Online shopping won't shut down, but delivery details have changed. A note on Amazon's website said that until further notice, it won't ship to P.O. boxes, Canada Post retail locations (which Amazon calls pickup points) or remote locations. Well.ca has moved all deliveries to UPS, which means a halt on shipping to P.O. boxes and express shipping.
COURIER COMPANIES RAMP UP AS CANADA POST UNCERTAINTY CAUSES BUSINESS INCREASE
TORONTO — Courier companies say they're seeing an increase in volume as a possible work stoppage looms at Canada Post.
UPS Canada has hired approximately 300 new staff across the country and says it is already seeing a sharp increase in business volume as Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers appear unlikely to reach a new contract.
Canada Post says a 72-hour notice delivered to the union on Tuesday does not necessarily mean it will shut down on Friday, and CUPW has vowed to not go on strike and stay at the bargaining table — but no talks are scheduled.
Purolator says it has also seen a significant increase in shipping volume.
A spokesperson says the company has a contingency plan to hire more staff and institute overtime hours, should a work stoppage occur.
FedEx says it has a contingency plan, but would not reveal what that plan entails.
A UPS spokesman said the company is used to spikes in business around certain times of year, like Christmas, but that this is a different situation.
"Christmas is an event we know is on the calendar, lasts a certain amount of time and then fades away," said Nicolas Dorget. "This (potential work stoppage), we know when it possibly is starting, but we don't know when it possibly is going to end."
The dispute revolves, in part, around such issues as potential changes to pension plans for new employees, the future of door-to-door mail delivery and differences in the way rural and urban postal workers are compensated.
The union wants a pay increase for its rural, mostly female carriers, who earn 28 per cent less than their urban, mostly male, counterparts to address what CUPW sees as a pay equity issue.
Canada Post has called CUPW's demands "not affordable," saying they would add $1 billion in costs over the life of a new contract as the postal service undergoes a review of operations, including the move away from door-to-door delivery.
The federal government has said it will stay out of a looming work stoppage for now, putting the onus on Canada Post and the union to come to an agreement quickly before the mail stops being delivered.
Canada Post and the union have agreed to deliver some "essential" mail to customers, such as cheques for child tax benefits, disability benefits and Canada Pension Plan benefits.
Customers of other products, such as medical marijuana, were notified back in April that a work stoppage might occur and that contingency plans could be necessary, according to Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton.
Canopy Growth Corp., a licensed medical marijuana producer that includes the brands Tweed and Bedrocan, says it switched over from Canada Post to a variety of other couriers in order to prevent patients from experiencing any delays in deliveries.
"We actually began using other couriers weeks ago to ensure no packages were stuck in transit," said spokesman Jordan Sinclair.
