Local CUPW 812 President Nicole Chouinard is dejected and exhausted after the Federal Governments latest announcement to modernize operations at Canada Post by suggesting an end to door to door delivery as well as some office closures.
This led to an immediate nationwide strike by the postal workers union who have set up picket lines in downtown Prince George and 15th Avenue.
Chouinard told Vista Radio yesterday’s (Thursday) announcement by Minister Joel Lightbound didn’t sit well with anybody.
“The fact that minister Lightbound took matters into his own hands and dictated that those changes should be happening was insulting. We have been fighting for two years against this absolute Goliath and yesterday was another hard day.”
She added when Minister Lightbound talks about saving hundreds of millions of dollars, it will likely come at the expense of eliminating hundreds of jobs who are already struggling with the rising cost of living.
“We have had issues that have been resolved in the past through court cases but of course, once the damage is done, the damage is done. There may been avenues of recourse down the line but that does not help us today,” added Chouinard.
Other measures announced by Ottawa includes lifting the moratorium on community mailbox conversions, ending a 1994 freeze on rural post office closures, altering delivery standards, and speeding up the process for stamp rate increases.
According to the postal company, letter mail has been on the decline for nearly two decades after reaching its peak of 5.5 billion letter in 2006 to two billion last year with further declines also projected.
Canada Post reported a second-quarter loss of $407 million, marking the Corporation’s largest loss before tax in a single quarter.
From 2018 to the second quarter of 2025, the company has posted cumulative losses from operations of more than $5 billion.
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