Unionized postal workers are on a nationwide strike Friday morning, after Canada Post announced it was planning to end door-to-door mail delivery for almost all households within the next decade.
Federal Procurement Minister Joel Lightbound said the move is among sweeping changes aimed at shoring up the Crown corporation’s finances in response to a decline in letter mail and its small share of the parcel market.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers, representing 55,000 members of the postal service, stated it was caught off guard by the changes and argued that Canada Post and the government are creating the conditions that drive down demand for those two services.
A spokesperson from Canada Post stated no new mail will be delivered during the course of the strike.
In its own statement released to media Thursday night, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the reform of Canada Post is long overdue, and it urged Ottawa to “push forward with the needed changes” despite the strike.
With files from the Canadian Press
(BROCK ORMOND)
