Name: Canada Post workers strike over government reform demands
Uploaded: 2025-09-26T08:55:02.787Z
Duration: 4 min 57 s
Description: The federal government is instructing Canada Post to make a series of major changes to address its financial situation, including allowing for millions of residential addresses to be shifted to community mailboxes. Postal workers have walked off the job in protest.

The federal government is instructing Canada Post to make a series of major changes to address its financial situation, including allowing for millions of residential addresses to be shifted to community mailboxes. Postal workers have walked off the job in protest.

Hamilton

Canada Post workers have initiated a nationwide strike after the government announced major reforms aimed at addressing the postal service's financial challenges. The proposed changes include ending door-to-door delivery for millions of Canadians, extending delivery times for non-urgent mail, and allowing the closure of certain post offices. The union has expressed strong opposition to these measures, citing concerns for workers and the public, particularly vulnerable groups.

The strike has led to widespread disruption of mail services, with deliveries paused except for social assistance checks and live animals. Small businesses have expressed concern about the timing of the strike, especially as it could affect the upcoming holiday season. The government has given Canada Post 45 days to develop a plan for implementing the reforms, while contract negotiations between the company and the union continue.

Canada Post workers strike over government reform demands

Deep in debt, effectively insolvent and facing what the government calls an existential crisis. The minister says it's time for Canada Post to change and end home deliveries. What this announcement is about is about saving Canada Post. Joelle Lightbound says Canadians are sending fewer letters. Turning to competitors to deliver packages. And that Ottawa can't keep bailing the postal service out year after year by an ever-growing amount. We can't go on with Canada Post losing $10 million a day and Canadian taxpayers footing the bill. So he's directing Canada Post to end the door-to-door delivery that a quarter of Canadians still get. Four million addresses expected to move to community mailboxes over the next nine years. I'd rather have my mail delivered at my house because I don't have to walk. Mail should be mail. You have your box in your house, done. I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm not too worried. I would be fine with it for us but I worry about the people that aren't capable. Seniors and people with mobility issues can apply to keep home delivery. Mail is really important to me. I mean, I get so much through the mail. To save millions of dollars, the government wants non-urgent mail to arrive within a week instead of three to four days. And says post offices will be allowed to shut down in areas that used to be rural but are now suburban. For those who really care and really rely on it, particularly in rural communities, particularly for those who really say that this is something that they want or need, I would expect there will be some blowback. The union says it's outraged, appalled and declared a nationwide strike is now on. The changes that they are proposing are not acceptable to the union. They're not acceptable to post workers and we think they're not acceptable to Canadians. The government is giving Canada Post 45 days to come up with a plan about how it's going to make these changes. Canada Post is welcoming them. And Ashley, it really wasn't that long ago that there was anger and political blowback over another plan involving community mailboxes. Yeah, Adrienne, a decade ago, the Liberals under Justin Trudeau campaigned to save home delivery. Then in 2018, paused the previous conservative government's plan to convert to community mailboxes. Now asked by Power Politics if that pause was a mistake, Minister Lightbound said in hindsight, probably yes. We're also hearing some conservative reaction, including from former Minister Lisa Raitt, who says this move to community mailboxes is a complete reversal by the Liberals and it's one she applauds. All right, Ashley Burke in Ottawa. Let's go to Jennifer Lagrassa who is outside a Canada Post plant. Jennifer, what are you hearing from the workers who are there tonight? Yeah, so there's lots of workers that are outside of this Toronto Canada Post plant and they are telling me that they were really caught off guard with the news today but also that they were upset at what the government announced. Now, they're not the only workers that are off the job. As we know, picket lines have been set up in New Brunswick and Calgary and this decision to strike, although it came quite suddenly, what we're hearing from labour experts is that this is likely legal and that's because workers had already been engaging in job action before, like refusing overtime after they had already been ordered back to work last December. And Jennifer, we know that last year's Canada Post strike caused a ton of disruptions for Canadians. Yeah, the 2024 Canada Post strike went on for over a month and it happened, you know, right before the holidays. Now, during that strike, no new mail was being accepted as well. Anything that was already in the system was kind of held up. So that meant that a lot of important documents couldn't get to people, like passports, for example. And we're hearing that it's going to be the same this time around. So deliveries are on pause except for social assistance checks or live animals. But no new shipments of live animals will be accepted. Now, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses spoke with us and they say this is a bad time. You know that small businesses are already facing consequences as a result of the ban on flyers. So for this to potentially stretch into the holiday season, a critical time for small businesses looking to make their ends meet, pay their bills. And we've called for Canada Post to be temporarily deemed an essential service in order to protect the economy and protect small businesses. The company and the union have been in contract talks for almost two years. Workers here say they're still hopeful there will be a deal, but we'll have to wait and see. Adrienne. All right, Jennifer, thank you. That's Jennifer Lagrassa in Toronto.

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