Nearly three-quarters (73%) of small business owners say they will be using Canada Post less in the future because of the strike, according to new data released Friday by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
“Parliament is distracted with a thousand other issues and has ignored this crisis for small business. MPs of all political stripes have spent more time focused on the cost of Air Canada carry-on baggage than the impact of the Canada Post strike on small businesses and consumers.”
“Small businesses have written off Canada Post for this holiday season, as even if the strike were settled today, it will take weeks to restart the system and get through the backlog already in the system,” said Dan Kelly, CFIB president. “But it should alarm us all that thousands of small firms will permanently abandon use of Canada Post as businesses have been forced to put alternatives in place. Canada Post and its union may well have lost their last reliable customers – small business owners.
The daily cost of the strike on small business has also risen to $100 million per day, according to new data collected by CFIB on December 10-11, especially given that private sector couriers appear to have reached maximum capacity with many pausing any new shipments from small businesses. The total financial hit to small firms has now reached $1.6 billion since the strike began, said the national organization, which is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 97,000 members across every industry and region.
On Friday, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said he’s asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order Canada Post employees back to work. He also appointed an “industrial inquiry commission” which will have until May 22 to find ways to reach a new contract agreement. The strike will be on pause and workers and management will operate under terms of the existing contract, which expired almost a year ago.
Kelly said the CFIB is relieved to learn the government is finally taking action to get Canada Post workers back on the job. This means Canada Post workers would be back on the job sometime next week at the earliest.
“This will be too late to salvage any of the Christmas holiday season for small businesses. With a massive backlog, it will be nearly impossible for any new shipments to make it to Canadians before Christmas through Canada Post. But the temporary order will help businesses that are desperately waiting for cheque-based payments from other business customers. Millions of dollars have been frozen in the mail making it difficult for small firms to pay their bills,” he said.
“Canada Post needs massive reforms to ensure that even basic services to all Canadians can continue. And we need a better process to resolve major labour disputes among our key supply chain players like ports, railways and Canada Post.”
“What’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year has turned into the nightmare before Christmas. Due to circumstances far beyond their control, small businesses are struggling to deliver goods in time for Christmas. CFIB encourages consumers to shop in person and to be understanding with businesses doing their best to deal with the postal disruption and the upcoming GST/HST holiday,” said Corinne Pohlmann, Executive VP of Advocacy.
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