A disruption in Canada Post services would hit some Canadians harder than others.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) issued a 72-hour strike notice on Tuesday.
Canada Post also notified the union that day that postal workers will be locked out if no agreement is reached by Friday.
Canada Post warned customers of possible delays, saying in a press release Tuesday that it's working "to minimize service disruptions." The Crown corporation highlighted its financial struggles but said that it's "committed to protecting what's most important to employees."
CUPW said it's asking for fair wages, safer working conditions and the right for workers "to retire with dignity."
"We're not just bargaining for ourselves; we're bargaining for the public and for all workers," CUPW national president Jan Simpson said in a press release on Tuesday.
As the deadline approaches for a potential strike at midnight Friday, CTVNews.ca asked readers how it would affect them and how they are preparing.
Small towns would suffer
People living in rural areas or smaller communities will have difficulty coping with mail disruptions, says Amanda Jeremy Chopping of Dubuc, Sask., a village of fewer than 100 residents.
Chopping says she visits the post office frequently and relies solely on Canada Post to ship everything, both for personal use and for her small business.
"Tracking parcels, keeping an eye on my letters or sending out parcels, I am at the post office at least once a week," she said in an email to CTVNews.ca, noting that doing so saves time with less driving to various business locations.
"It's convenient to grab mail, parcels or send items at the same location," she said.
Chopping said she's had problems with private shippers after items were lost, damaged or dropped off at the wrong locations, and because she lives in a smaller town, there are few locations for them in the first place.
Few of the alternatives, she says, will offer a "farm drop off," which she describes as a very "off the beaten trail" method of delivery.
Christmas cards in limbo
Shelley Sherman of London, Ont., says she starts making elaborate Christmas cards in May, but is worried about sending them now.
"I have a stack of cards I will not mail, as I don't want them being lost in limbo in case a strike occurs," she said in an email to CTVNews.ca. "I will save them for next year for my friends and family to whom I can hand deliver."
Still, Sherman says home delivery isn't really useful for her, as she often gets "flyers" and "political propaganda" about once or twice a week.
Potential delays for customers
Many organizations and businesses also depend on Canada Post to ship products.
Rachael Miller, a nutritionist, herbalist and the owner of Zhi Herbals in Vancouver, says her small business has been shipping herbal tea exclusively through Canada Post for the past five years.
"With both the Canada Post strike and the holiday season happening around the same time, we are expecting the orders that we ship to be delayed," she wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca. "We are trying to prepare for and minimize disruptions to our business by communicating often with our customers."
Because of the potential disruptions, she said her company has posted a notice about the potential delays on its website and sent emails to customers to advise them to order early if they want to receive their packages before the holidays.
She is hopeful that if the strike happens, it will be resolved quickly, so her company hasn't switched delivery carriers.
Hope Mission, a non-profit organization in Edmonton, says it is encouraging people to donate online or by phone instead of by mail in order to prevent delays, as it expects a significant portion of its donations to arrive during the holidays.
The charity provides meals, winter shelters and other programs to help unhoused people.
"With Canada Post issuing a 72-hour strike notice, Hope Mission is bracing for possible disruptions to mail delivery, which could impact crucial holiday donations needed to support Edmonton's most vulnerable residents this winter," the charity wrote in a press release this week.
'I hardly use the mail'
Some Canadians say a Canada Post strike won't affect them.
Steve Maidment of Cambridge, Ont., questions the relevance of Canada Post in an increasingly digital age. He said he uses email and cellphone to communicate with people, and direct deposits for payments. He usually buys products from Amazon, he added.
Besides the aspects of life already online, he notes that everything from health cards to passports could be digitized as well.
He says he's surprised Canada still has mail service.
"We don't really need it," he wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca.
This article is based on email correspondence between the subjects and CTVNews.ca. Some details have not been independently verified.
