Canadians weigh in on Canada Post usage as crucial vote nears
Fifty-five thousand Canada Post employees are set to vote this week on the latest offer for a new collective bargaining agreement.
The potential new deal would see wages jump more than 13 per cent while adding more part-time workers.
Negotiations between the Crown corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have been ongoing for more than 18 months.
'We put forward the offers. We hope they see it as a reasonable path forward that provides certainty,' said Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton.
But the union sees things differently.
'We feel like we are dealing with a mugger, and the post office is trying to take a whole bunch of stuff from us,' said CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant.
As the impasse continues, CTV asked Canadians how much they rely on Canada Post.
'I don't send any mail or anything, so I don't really use it,' said Gurpreet Singh, a student at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax.
Judith Boyce, a senior who also lives in Halifax, still sends and receives mail regularly.
'I use it for maybe paying bills,' Boyce said.
She wasn't alone.
'Our family mails letters and parcels to family and friends weekly,' said John Clark.
Others like Pat McDonell, appreciate the old-school nostalgia and tradition that Canada Post has to offer.
'I have to admit I like to receive things from Canada Post,' said McDonell. 'As opposed to electronically.'
Canada Post has served communities across the country since 1867. But how people use the service often depends on where they live, said Ed McHugh, a marketing professor at Mount Saint Vincent University.
'The hard part about this story is that I fear for rural Canadians,' said McHugh. 'There are a lot of delivery companies that won't deliver to rural Newfoundland, or rural Alberta, or rural British Columbia.'
He added that Canada Post has seen a decline in use among younger Canadians.
'I'm sure they know what Amazon Prime is, but they don't know what Canada Post is,' said McHugh.
Ashleigh Marshall, who is in her 20s, admitted she doesn't use the postal service at all.
'I feel like some demographics use it more than others,' said Marshall. 'I would say it's not super relevant to my everyday life.'
Still, there are those who remain loyal to Canada Post.
'We get a lot of junk mail basically,' said Boyce. 'But still, I would hate to see it disappear.'
She hopes Canada Post and the union avoid a strike and work toward strengthening the role of a service that dates back to Confederation.
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