Small businesses gear up for another possible Canada Post strike

Small businesses and shipping firms are preparing for a possible Canada Post strike as early as next week, a disruption they warn could strain supply chains and freeze millions of packages as well as billions of dollars in sales.

While the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the postal service had been in talks since April 30, Canada Post said late Tuesday that it was hitting pause on negotiations after it said days of trying to hash out a deal had gone by "without meaningful progress."

The postal service said the temporary pause would allow the postal service to come back to the table with "comprehensive proposals" that it hopes can move discussions forward. The union called the pause a "tactic."

"Given the seriousness of the matter, it is reprehensible to keep workers and the public on edge when we should all be focused on negotiating good collective agreements that will benefit workers and grow our public service to meet the needs of all Canadians," CUPW said in a media statement.

Ottawa asked the federal labour board to send workers back on the job in December, when talks were at an impasse and a strike was disrupting holiday mail deliveries. That order back to work expires on May 22, meaning mail service could stop again as a result of a strike or lockout as of that date.

That reality means mom-and-pop shops and e-commerce companies have started making alternative arrangements to get their packages to consumers and clients. But many are already frustrated.

In Cape Breton, N.S., yarn retailer Tracy Hubbard says she's begun tallying the hit to her bottom line if she's forced to ship through a large courier, which typically charges more for parcels than Canada Post.

Small businesses bore the brunt of the service stoppage in the fall, with many scrambling last-minute to find other carriers who could deliver their packages.

At the time, Sterling Slingerland, a small business owner in Oshawa, Ont., who runs an online gift shop, told the CBC they were pausing any online orders and having local customers pick up their packages instead as a result of the strike.

"I'm so used to Canada Post. That's all I've ever worked with. And they're right around the corner. I know the people at the mail office. I know the guy that comes to the door," Slingerland said.

While a burgeoning crop of last-mile carriers and shipping platforms saw their volumes surge during last year's month-long postal strike, many were caught off guard and found they could handle only a fraction of the demand.

Jarrett Stewart, in charge of commercial operations at delivery startup GoBolt, says a Canada Post work stoppage would mean more customers but also more headaches if the big couriers it relies on, such as FedEx and UPS, cap freight volumes.

Alternative shipping company Stallion Express says a strike would stall billions of dollars in e-commerce revenue and leave rural shoppers waiting for essential goods.

While the extension to the two sides' collective agreement ends on May 22, yesterday was the deadline for a commission established in January to file its final report on the viability of Canada Post. Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon established the commission in December when he asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the two sides back to work.

WATCH | CFIB says businesses worried about cost, deliveries, cash flow amid postal strike during first strike:

Corinne Pohlmann, executive vice-president of advocacy for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, says her organization asked members what they were worried about ahead of the Canada Post strike.

Stephanie Ross, an associate professor in the school of labour studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., said that depending on what commissioner William Kaplan concludes, the report could lend credence to Canada Post's claim that its financial situation limits what it can offer the union.

One of the outstanding issues is a push from Canada Post to add weekend delivery, a move the union fears could undermine full-time workers' job protections if the postal service turns to part-time or gig workers to staff the expanded model.

Ross says this week's pause is likely in Canada Post's interest, because the report could back up the Crown corporation's claim that it's pursuing the most viable path to staying afloat.