On behalf of the Fort Saskatchewan and District Chamber of Commerce, I am writing to urge you to immediately intervene and do everything necessary to end the strike that has now shut down operations at Canada Post for more than two weeks.
Last year, Canada Post delivered almost six and a half billion pieces of mail, parcels, and messages to more than 17 million addresses nationwide. As a result, this work stoppage impacts millions of Canadians and businesses who rely on the postal service every day.
This is yet another blow to our supply chains, with a disproportionate impact on entrepreneurs and small businesses engaged in e-commerce, many of whom are counting on doing a considerable amount of business during the holiday season.
Businesses in our communities depend on Canada Post to deliver essential items like documents, payments, and orders. This affects everyone, from local artisans unable to ship products to customers, and people not able to spread joy with cards – adding to the loneliness many people experience over the holidays.
This strike has been crippling to Non-profits who receive donations via mail, with 50% of donations happening in December for their programs & services. This upset is causing major cash flow issues as they deliver lifesaving support to those in need.
It also has put undue stress on Canadian's awaiting passports, medical cards, drivers' licenses, test results, pension & security cheques and many other documents that only come through the mail.
Canada’s supply chains have been under constant strain in recent years due to wildfires, floods, blockades, and the COVID-19 pandemic. There were strikes across the ports in British Columbia and the St. Lawrence Seaway, and as you know all too well, labour disputes paralyzed Canada’s rail network and shut down our largest East and West coast ports. Added to the lack of predictability resulting from disputes with Canada’s border agents, as well as Air Canada’s cargo network, there has simply been no predictable movement of goods or stability in prices.
We respectfully ask that you put the families and businesses in our community first by intervening to resolve this dispute, as we cannot continue to pay the price of inaction.
We respectfully ask that you put the families and businesses in our community first by intervening to resolve this dispute, as we cannot continue to pay the price of inaction.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.
