People look for alternatives to sending mail via Canada Post

It’s been less than a week since Canada Post went on strike, but people are already finding other ways of sending their mail.

Sharon Grund is the Regina dispatcher for Provincial Courier Service, a Saskatchewan company that delivers to cities including Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert and small towns along their routes.

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“I’m getting probably an additional 25 to 30 phone calls a day for inquiries,” Grund said.

This company also experienced a boom in business when Canada Post went on strike less than a year ago.

“We were way busier. Like the phones were really busy. A lot of inquiries, a lot of new accounts,” Grund said about that time.

Some customers switched over to Provincial Courier Service during the last strike. Now, others are returning.

Regardless of whether they’re new or familiar faces, though, Grund said people are frustrated with the Crown Corporation.

“They’re actually very mad about this. They’re upset and mad,” she said.

Grund said the company is trying to help new customers’ mailing requests as much as it can, including helping deliver one woman’s utility bill payments which she normally sends a cheque via Canada Post.

“That’s just a little extra that we don’t normally do,” Grund said.

Dependence on Canada Post

But, not every community has a viable alternative to Canada Post.

Bill Huber, President of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), said that the vast majority of rural communities, villages, and towns don’t have courier services.

Instead, they rely on Canada Post for all of their mail – for more than just letters. According to Huber, people “also pay their bills by sending a cheque in the mail.”

That’s because over the last few years, banks have been closing in rural Saskatchewan. So, for those not using online banking, they mail in their payments.

With the strike, though, Huber said people will need to drive to other communities that still have couriers to get make their payments, along with sending any other parcels or letters they have. While it’s inconvenient for many people, Huber was most concerned about the strike’s impacts on seniors.

“We got a lot of seniors in some of these small communities. They haven’t got access to a vehicle to get to a bank,” he said, adding how there’s no bus service left. “They depend on somebody to pick them up or get a ride.”

It’s also more costly, and slower, to use couriers, according to Huber. He said with Canada Post people could ensure they met deadlines and made payments on time by sending priority mail, guaranteeing its arrival in a couple of business days.

The convenience of sending payments and parcels by Canada Post is now gone as people now need to travel to other communities.