Canada Post labour strife jeopardizes Amazon rural deliveries

GLENBORO — A rural businessman said he’s been left high and dry because his Amazon deliveries were halted due to labour uncertainty at Canada Post.

Liam Kelley, owner of Kelley Laser Engraving Services, told the Brandon Sun Thursday that for three weeks, deliveries to his business from Amazon have been disabled. The stoppage makes him to worry that small communities will be stripped of vital services.

“Having a service like that, that just goes mysteriously dark… it’s a little scary,” Kelley said. “At any moment, something we rely on can be cut off.”

Glenboro Mayor Charles Radford confirmed Amazon deliveries have stopped.

Kelley orders bulk quantities of small items such as magnets and coasters through Amazon. An order to his home was cancelled three weeks ago, and then followup orders were frozen, and his address is invalid when he inputs it for delivery options.

A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed there are problems with delivery to some areas in Canada.

“Amazon is temporarily unable to ship to addresses that are uniquely served by Canada Post, because we are currently unable to guarantee delivery times,” the spokesperson wrote. “This includes PO Boxes, and pickup points and communities that are only serviced by Canada Post.”

The spokesperson encouraged customers to switch to delivery provided by other carriers, or to use a nearby Amazon Counter pickup point.

The stoppage demonstrates how Glenboro and other small communities are vulnerable, Kelley said.

“It’s kind of a town issue. It’s a thing that puts the town’s survival in jeopardy,” he said.

Glenboro had a population of 544 people in the most recent census, in 2021. Kelley said he feels that small communities need to work on being more self-reliant, such as by manufacturing things locally.

“God help us if we lose Canada Post.”

Kelley said he can’t obtain certain items he had planned to engrave. He drives one hour to Brandon to search for materials, but some items are not available, especially in bulk quantities, he said

In the Canada Post dispute, developments continued Thursday to secure a contract between the Crown corporation and unionized workers.

The federal government asked union employees to vote directly on the latest offer made by Canada Post.

Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said in a social media post she’s using her power under the Canada Labour Code to send the Crown corporation’s latest offer to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers members for a vote.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board will be directed to conduct the vote “as soon as possible,” she said.

In a media statement issued Thursday, Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu said the corporation welcomes the vote, adding “it will provide employees with the opportunity to have a voice and vote on a new collective agreement at a critical point in our history.”

“A negotiated agreement between the parties has always been the preferred path to an employee ratification vote, however the parties remain at a major impasse,” Liu said.

Hajdu said it’s in the “public interest” to give the roughly 55,000 CUPW members an opportunity to vote on the offer, which Canada Post has said is its “final” proposal.

While Canada Post requested the vote as a way to resolve the 18-month-old dispute in a timely manner, the minister directed the parties last week to hash out terms for binding arbitration — a process CUPW said it would support.

— Brandon Sun, with files from The Canadian Press