Canadians were hit with a nationwide postal strike Thursday night after cabinet stunned workers by announcing sweeping cuts to mail delivery with no warning or consultation.The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said the government’s plan to eliminate daily delivery, shut rural post offices and scrap door-to-door service amounted to a direct attack on jobs and communities. “We cannot accept this attack on good jobs and public services,” said CUPW president Jan Simpson, who accused the government of blindsiding the union.Effective immediately, all union members walked off the job in protest.Public Works Minister Joel Lightbound defended the changes, saying Canadians could no longer afford to subsidize Canada Post’s spiraling losses. He confirmed delivery would be reduced to every second business day, rural branches could be closed, and all Canadians would be forced to use community mailboxes.“Repeated bailouts from the federal government are not the solution,” said Lightbound. “Canadians can’t go on footing the bill day after day, year after year.”Canada Post posted an $841 million loss in 2024 and is on track to lose nearly $1.5 billion this year, according to Lightbound’s department. That equals about $10 million a day. Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said the losses were undermining Ottawa’s ability to spend on other priorities such as housing. “Everything is a trade-off,” said MacKinnon.Union leaders said Ottawa’s decision was a betrayal of the public. “This slapdash approach without full public consultation is an insult to the public and postal workers,” said Simpson. “The government may act as the sole shareholder, but the public owns the post office.”.Due to a high level of spam content being posted, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). Your patience is appreciated.
