With a potential Canada Post strike on the horizon, small businesses in the nation’s capital are worried about another disruption to the supply chain that can hurt their bottom line.
On Tuesday, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said in a statement its executive board was giving the required 72-hours notice for both its rural and urban mail carrier bargaining units. The union also noted its workers received notice from Canada Post Corporation that postal workers would be locked out Friday morning if agreements can’t be reached.
For businesses in Ottawa, it’s yet another headache before the holiday shopping season.
Jason Tasse, the president of Lee Valley Tools, an Ottawa-based home and garden chain with 18 stores across Canada, said a postal strike could mean the chain’s physical catalogue won’t make it to people’s mailboxes.
Tasse also worries the strike could prompt consumers to hold off from committing to their purchases, even though the company has said they do use alternative carriers like UPS and FedEx.
“The Canada Post disruption is pending, [consumers] lose confidence in ordering parcels, so there’ll be a market retraction in response to this, despite the fact that businesses will have alternative carriers,” he said.
“It is a level of complication nobody needs today. And sadly with these types of situations, nobody wins,” Tasse said.
The potential postal worker strike could also impact smaller local businesses. Ian Boyd, who co-owns Compact Music with his brother, said they send most of their records using the shipping service Chit Chats. But when asked Tuesday, he said two of 11 parcels going out that day were being sent through Canada Post.
“We don’t want to lose those two packages because every sale is important when you’re a little guy like my brother and I are,” he said.
‘Still the cheapest carrier service that small businesses can use’
While some businesses can look at alternative carriers, Jasmin Guénette, national affairs vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, said that’s not an option everyone can pursue.
“Canada Post is still the cheapest carrier service that small businesses can use,” Guénette said.
“We need [Canada Post] service to be fully operational at all time, especially as we get closer to the holiday season. And many small businesses have been hit already by the work stoppage at B.C. ports and at the Port Of Montreal,” he added.
The potential Canada Post strike comes after labour disputes broke out at major ports in Quebec and British Columbia.
On Sunday, the union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal rejected a deal with their employers’ association, prompting a lockout at the facility. But on Tuesday, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon sent the disputes to binding arbitration.
Should a postal strike come to pass, Tasse said he hopes the potential economic impact will pressure both sides to return to the bargaining table.
“We really hope that they can resolve these things, but because it is a peak season, there’ll be a lot of pressure for a resolution and we hope that they can get there,” he said.