The ongoing Canada Post strike is having a major impact on communities across the NWT, particularly as the holiday season approaches.
The labour stoppage took effect on Nov. 15, when some 55,000 Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) employees walked off the job with demands for better wages and medical benefits, as well as changes to the way the Crown corporation uses its temporary employees. Almost a month later SA国际影视传媒� and well into the Christmas shopping season SA国际影视传媒� the strike is still underway, causing major shipping delays across the country.
The problem is particularly pronounced in NWT communities like Fort Liard, where Canada Post is the only means of shipping parcels.
"People are dependent on Canada Post," said John McKee, the senior administrative officer (SAO) of the community of just under 500 people. "You can only do a little [to adapt]. Some mail is caught in the system."
Residents in nearby Nahanni Butte are facing the same problem. The small community of fewer than 100 people didn't get a post office until 2022, and without year-round road access, people there now rely heavily on the postal service.
"Mail is not being delivered to the community currently and I understand that lot of members had placed online orders for Christmas and holidays," said Nahanni Butte Dene Band manager Soham Srimani, who noted that those orders are now delayed. "We hope that the issues get resolved soon and Canada Post starts operating at full capacity. We value Canada Post as an organization, their staff members and the positive impacts they bring to lives across Canada.
"People are obviously not happy with delays in getting their orders delivered on time, especially just before the holidays," Srimani added. "We havenSA国际影视传媒檛 been able to adapt to this so far and [we're] looking into ways to address the current situation."
Some larger NWT communities are served by shipping companies like Fed-Ex and UPS. That includes Inuvik, which is home to just over 3,100 people. However, Fed-Ex and UPS shipments to Inuvik are generally transferred to Canada Post in Edmonton, which means that these companies are not actually viable options for the community during the current strike.
"Some companies say go ahead, keep ordering [parcels], weSA国际影视传媒檒l send it [via] Fed-Ex," said Inuvik Mayor Peter Clarkson. "Well, that doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 do us any good.
"A lot of couriers like Federal Express and UPS and things like that, they switch to Canada Post in Edmonton, because we donSA国际影视传媒檛 have a Federal Express or UPS office here, so thatSA国际影视传媒檚 not even an option," he explained. "It effects people in general, no matter what time of the year it is... because itSA国际影视传媒檚 over the Christmas season, with people ordering presents, itSA国际影视传媒檚 even had a larger impact.
"[Presents] are either stuck in the mail somewhere, or suppliers havenSA国际影视传媒檛 even put them into the mail because nothingSA国际影视传媒檚 moving," said Clarkson.
While the strike is having an impact on holiday gift-giving, it's also affecting some Inuvik residents' travel plans, according to the mayor.
"The other area [where people are being impacted] besides Christmas presents is that people get their passports in the mail," he said. "People who had ordered passports that may have gotten into the mail, theySA国际影视传媒檙e not receiving those passports, so if they were planning a trip that required a passport over Christmas, then thatSA国际影视传媒檚 creating some hardship too.
"Down south, you can probably go into one of the passport officesSA国际影视传媒� people can just go there and pick it up," he added. "Well we donSA国际影视传媒檛 have a passport office."
Hay River senior administrative officer Glenn Smith has been seeing similar logistical issues in his community, which is about the same size as Inuvik. He noted there has been an increase in "account holders signing up for electronic delivery" for things like utility bills, but that processes like property tax assessments are being impacted.
"[The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs] completes property tax assessments for the town," he said. "Tax assessments must be delivered by mail. There are concerns that the strike will now impact the timing of the delivery of the notices, which may impact the dates for levying and payment of taxes. The town has not fully discussed the implications and any amended procedures yet."
While the strike is creating problems for many residents across the NWT, there could be a silver lining. According to Smith, the difficultly Hay River residents are having ordering Christmas presents may be leading to a boost in local shopping.
"I have heard that the Moonlight Madness event [on Nov. 29] was very busy for local retailers with sales volumes at increased levels in comparison to years in recent past," he said. "ISA国际影视传媒檓 speculating that this is due to concerns with the postal strike."
Clarkson has noticed a similar trend in Inuvik.
"People are generally pretty good as far as supporting the local economy, but yeah, I think weSA国际影视传媒檙e getting more people [shopping locally]," he said. 'Because Inuvik is a regional hub, weSA国际影视传媒檙e getting people from Aklavik, Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson, Tuktoyaktuk. People are coming in. Vendors usually get busier closer to Christmas, but I think weSA国际影视传媒檙e already seeing that busyness happen. WeSA国际影视传媒檝e had one craft fair already, and thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a couple more coming up, and I think weSA国际影视传媒檒l see more people purchasing stuff at those, plus thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot of crafts for sale on the [local] buy/sell Facebook page also. Hopefully weSA国际影视传媒檙e getting a silver lining in that weSA国际影视传媒檙e getting more purchases being made locally."
