Janet Wright is the owner of FloorPlay Socks, a boutique sock shop with multiple locations in the GTHA. At her Queen West shop, she welcomes news of a possible deal between Canada Post and the union representing its workers, which sees a pause in its strike action.
“I hope it stays and does not dissolve again over Christmas; we went through this once before at Christmas, where Canada Post was on strike, it affected our business tremendously,” said Wright.
“When they were on strike, I couldn’t guarantee my deliveries, so I had to use courier services, and sometimes the Canadian courier services were too expensive.”
On Friday, Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced an agreement in principle as both sides work towards finalizing language for a tentative agreement. While no details were released, the upside is an end to rotating strikes and any possible lockout, likely meaning uninterrupted mail and delivery service through the Christmas season.
“The kryptonite for business is uncertainty. You know, they don’t like uncertainty. They need certainty to plan their business. And even now, it’s still a tentative agreement. What if it falls through?” said retail analyst Bruce Winder.
With the holiday shopping season in full swing, many shoppers on Toronto’s Queen Street West tell CityNews they aren’t ready to put all their eggs in the Crown corporation’s basket, noting they would try to do more in-store shopping as a result.
“Some merchants and customers, users, might be a little nervous of using Canada Post because there probably is going to be some form of backlog that’s in the system right now. So, things, parcels that you may want to get delivered by the 25th of December may be arriving in January,” explained Winder.
Even with the union, management and government now moving in the right direction, experts say the Crown corporation still runs the risk of losing small businesses altogether.
“Over the course of the last year, our data has showed that about two-thirds of small firms have said that if there was another lengthy strike at Canada Post, then they wouldn’t return at all,” said Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Canada Post still faces serious financial trouble, reporting the highest quarterly loss in its history on Friday. After starting the year with a $1-billion federal loan, Canada Post says it will need another bailout within a month or two as the Crown corporation continues to hemorrhage cash.
“If Canada Post has worked out a model with its union that will allow it to reduce the cost pressure and add services like more delivery options, I do think that there’s a role for Canada Post,” said Kelly.
