Collectors believe stamp hobby will endure despite unclear future of strike-embroiled Canada Post
A strike by national postal workers is frustrating for the local stamp-collecting community like it is for anyone expecting wares through the mail.
But even with the future of Canada Post in question, given the Crown corporation's mounting financial losses and loss of business due to the strike, enthusiasts in Edmonton say they feel their hobby will ride out the uncertainty.
In the short term, the strike by postal union workers that's in its third week has made it "difficult" for collectors and dealers to obtain or ship materials both in terms of timeliness and financially, Edmonton Stamp Club president David Pattison told CTV News Edmonton.
He said it makes collectors turn to other services to obtain material, but other delivery systems are more expensive.
"You start looking at UPS and FedEx and some of the others, they're a lot more costly than Canada Post, and timeliness as well," Pattison said. "It affects not just Canada, but elsewhere as well. With the Canada Post strike, some of our people here are servicing clients who may be in Great Britain or maybe in South Africa, so they're unable to get the materials to them."
For Keith Spencer, while communication between collectors has moved online, the inability to send/receive mail because of the strike affects a key component of the hobby.
"I think most collectors feel that they can't stay in touch with other collectors, and they can't send stamps to people, and they can't get stamps. It's very frustrating," said Spencer, who's been collecting stamps for more than 70 years.
"A lot of the hobby is done now on eBay. People are buying, selling, trading, and collectors love to send letters and to get mail. That component of the hobby has been really interrupted by the strike."
Businesses across Canada are lobbying the federal government to intervene in the labour dispute between 55,000 workers represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the Crown corporation. The Retail Council of Canada said Tuesday that the strike jeopardizes businesses and their employees across the country.
The federal government has so far resisted calls for it to intervene, even though it intervened in other labour disputes earlier this year. Federal mediation was put on pause last week as the two sides appeared too far apart to reach an agreement, and the federal labour minister on Wednesday urged them to get back to negotiating.
Still, while the short- and long-term future for mail is murky, both Pattison and Spencer believe the hobby will endure despite the service disruption and if circumstances alter Canada Post.
Pattison said the club is still recovering from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on meeting attendance – before it, 60 members would attend a Monday evening get-together, whereas this week, more than 50 people attended – but that the strike isn't affecting short-term interest.
"Anytime you have a strike going on and you get a shortage of materials, then yes, it's going to have an impact on our meetings, but I think (a drop of interest) would be a ways (away)," he said.
Spencer said he believes the strike is "timed to be as frustrating as possible."
"It's right at the Christmas season, which is the heaviest mail time for Canada Post for the whole year," he said.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Sean McClune and The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING MPs approve $21.6B in supplementary spending; Conservatives vote against
MPs have voted to approve an additional $21.6 billion in government spending. The money, which is supplementary to this year's federal budget, will fund various programs including First Nations child services, dental care and compensation to Quebec for services to asylum seekers.
'Which one of those two is going to win?': Poilievre prods Trudeau, Freeland over spending tension
Revived talk of tensions between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland prompted new questions Tuesday, about how big the federal deficit will be in next week's economic update.
DEVELOPING Luigi Mangione shouts as he is led into courthouse where he contests extradition to N.Y.
The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggled with deputies and shouted Tuesday while arriving for a court appearance in Pennsylvania, a day after he was arrested at a McDonald’s and charged with murder.
Waterloo Region mistakenly applied $13.7M discount to Amazon build in Blair
The Region of Waterloo will not be able to demand $13.7 million from a developer after they said a discount was mistakenly issued for the development of an Amazon fulfillment centre.
Ex-minister cites 'threat to security' for denying emergency passport to Abdelrazik
Former foreign minister Lawrence Cannon says he denied an emergency passport to Abousfian Abdelrazik in 2009 because he considered the Montreal man a possible threat to national security.
Dolly Parton explains why her longtime husband doesn't attend events with her
Dolly Parton has been married for 58 years, but you probably could count on one hand the times you have seen her with her husband.
TikTok files legal challenge of federal government's shutdown order
TikTok is challenging the federal government’s order to shut down its operations in Canada, claiming it will eliminate hundreds of jobs and potentially terminate a quarter of a million contracts that it has with Canadian advertising clients.
Flair Airlines CFO Sumanth Rao charged with involuntary manslaughter after fatal crash in U.S.
Flair Airlines' chief financial officer Sumanth Rao is facing involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with a fatal crash involving an underage driver who had been drinking at his Atlanta-area home.
‘Immediately stop using’: Health Canada warns against use of baby car seat bought on Amazon.ca
Health Canada released a consumer product advisory against the use of a baby car seat availible for purchase on Amazon.