Canada Post says mail delivery has now resumed in all NWT communities after unionized postal workers scaled back their strike action.
Earlier this week, Canada Post issued only a generic statement in response to concerns from some communities that mail delivery might take weeks to fully resume.
On Wednesday afternoon, the corporation sent Cabin Radio a second, more specific statement in which it said “operations have resumed in all communities in Northwest Territories.”
That includes Whatì, Canada Post said, where the situation is complicated by the recent suspension of Air Tindi’s three-times-weekly service between Whatì and Yellowknife.
“Our transportation team is working with Air Tindi and Tłı̨chǫ Investment Corporation to get the mail to remote communities from Yellowknife,” Canada Post stated.
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Beyond that, Canada Post said the status of NWT mail is no delays and daily delivery.
“As rotating strike activity continues, customers could see delays in service and our service guarantees remain suspended,” the corporation added.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers moved to rotating strike action last week rather than an all-out nationwide strike, which some analysts have said reflects a weakness in the union’s position. The union says its move was strategic and demonstrates its commitment to the public.
Also on Wednesday, Canada Post set out the “guiding principles” it will use in drawing up a plan for presentation to the federal government.
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Ottawa has given Canada Post 45 days to produce a new plan that incorporates federal instructions to gradually end door-to-door mail delivery and make some other changes.
The federal government has also given Canada Post permission to close some post offices considered rural – locations that had been protected by law for the past 30 years. Ottawa argues some of those locations are no longer rural because of the way demographics have changed in recent decades, and people can get the same services at other facilities nearby.
Canada Post said its guiding principles include work to “provide reliable and affordable delivery for all Canadians while protecting access to vital postal services in rural, remote and Indigenous communities.”
Concerns have been raised over the fate of some NWT post offices following the new federal instructions.
