The ongoing Canada Post labour dispute is already being felt across Haida Gwaii. The Village of Daajing Giids confirmed this week that the post office will no longer distribute Neighbourhood or Unaddressed Mail, which includes flyers, government notices, and the village’s Village Voice newsletter. The change, tied to Canada Post job action, is forcing the municipality to find alternate ways to meet its legislated public-notice requirements.
Deputy Corporate Officer Carolyn Beaumont said the suspension adds complexity under section 94 of the Community Charter, since the local newspaper’s publication schedule doesn’t meet the required notice window. To stay compliant, the village will post information about the upcoming tax sale through Facebook, posters around town, the municipal website, Haida Gwaii News and Haida Gwaii Trader online. “We feel this meets our public notice obligations considering the circumstances,” Beaumont said in a message to council.
The postal disruption comes as Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) remain at odds over the future of the national service. The corporation has presented new global offers that it says are essential to modernize operations while remaining financially sustainable.
President and CEO Doug Ettinger said the corporation’s losses have grown untenable. “When Canada Post loses money, taxpayers now foot the bill—a bill which currently amounts to about $1 billion a year,” he said. “This is not sustainable, nor is it necessary. Instead of increasing our reliance on taxpayers, there are practical changes we can make to modernize the nation’s postal service and make it financially sustainable.”
The new offers apply to both the Urban and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers bargaining units. They include wage increases totalling 13.59 per cent over four years, continued protection of pensions and benefits, vacation entitlements of up to seven weeks, and a cost-of-living allowance. Canada Post said the proposals are “within the limit of what the Corporation can afford while maintaining good jobs and benefits for employees over the long term.”
A signing bonus previously offered is no longer available, which the company said reflects its worsening financial outlook following two nationwide strikes that disrupted service.
Ettinger said adapting the postal network is critical to keeping up with how Canadians use the service. “Currently, less than one in four households still receives door-to-door delivery,” he said. “Converting more households to community mailboxes will fuel significant savings.” He added that accessibility accommodations remain available for those who need them.
Canada Post is also proposing to remove a clause that restricts changes to 493 corporate post offices, mostly in urban and suburban areas. Management said doing so would allow the company to better align its retail network with “the modern needs of Canadians,” while focusing resources on rural, remote, northern and Indigenous communities.
On Monday, October 6, CUPW released a statement titled Government Intervention Has Destroyed Bargaining, saying postal workers are fighting not only for fair agreements but also against federal interference in the process. National President Jan Simpson said government actions have “completely ruined this round of negotiations,” pushing the two sides farther apart. She said postal workers “aren’t just fighting for fair agreements—we’re also fighting a political battle against successive anti-labour governments that have shown zero respect for workers’ Charter-protected rights to free and fair collective bargaining.”
The union also criticized the government’s September 25 directive, saying it gave Canada Post “permission to make even worse offers than the ones postal workers had just decisively rejected.” CUPW claims the new proposals give management greater discretion over routes, overtime and retail counter closures while suspending job-security protections during the company’s restructuring.
Ettinger said the transformation plan is intended to keep Canada Post strong and self-sustaining for years to come. “Our goal is to provide an affordable, reliable and sustainable service to every Canadian—one that lifts our national pride by strengthening our connections to each other.”
Canada Post said it remains committed to reaching negotiated agreements with CUPW that are affordable, sustainable and fair.
