County entrepreneur Sandi McElwain has endured a lot during her 25 years in business, but said the ongoing Canada Post strike is crippling her during what’s supposed to be the busy season.
Through her company Why Not Collect It, McElwain sells vintage items and collectibles online. She had a storefront in Haliburton village, at 199 Highland St., from 2013 to 2018, but has been selling virtually on Ebay for the past six years.
Business has been good, she said – steadily climbing year-over-year to the point she now processes approximately 400 orders each month. Or at least she was – McElwain said her business has come to a complete standstill since Canada Post delivery workers went on strike Nov. 15.
With about 95 per cent of her clientele based in the U.S., McElwain said the Crown corporation is her only option for sending items south of the border. Most couriers charge expensive brokerage fees for international shipping, McElwain says, with that cost often more than the items people are buying.
“I’m 100 per cent stopped right now – I haven’t earned any money for more than two weeks. I can’t afford Christmas now. I have no idea how I’m going to pay my bills… I have no options at this point. I feel like I’ve had my livelihood taken away from me,” McElwain said.
In an update Nov. 26, Canada Post said talks over a new deal had “ground to a halt.” The company is considering its options after seeing little movement in negotiations on several key issues.
Company spokesperson Lisa Liu said the strike, now in its 14th day, is hurting Canadians.
“Canada Post now enters the busy Black Friday online shopping week effectively shut down… we are down nearly 10 million parcels since the strike began, which will only increase as it continues,” Liu said. “The impacts continue to be felt across the country, hitting small businesses, charities and remote communities the most.”
More than 55,000 postal workers nationwide are still striking. Doug Ford, representing Canadian Union of Postal Workers in Haliburton County, said picketers remain united, digging in as they fight for improved pay, parity, and job security.
Workers have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2023. Canada Post’s latest offer included annual wage increases amounting to 11.5 per cent over the next four years, while also including protections for defined benefit and pension plans for current employees.
Ford said the contract wanted to create a two-tiered pay scale for employees, which the union is against. He also wants to hear more about Canada Post’s plans to transition to a seven-day delivery system, which the company says it needs to do to compete with companies like Amazon.
Haliburton BIA president Brandon Nimigon said he’s heard some businesses are struggling through the strike – commercial operations that rely on Canada Post for products are impacted, so too companies looking to advertise ahead of Black Friday and the holidays.
“I know some businesses got flyers printed, paid for this big promo and now they’re not going out. It’s the worst time for this to happen, because a lot of businesses rely on the flyers to bring people in over the holidays,” Nimigon said.
He’s seen some issues at his firm Century 21 Granite Realty Group – traditionally, the company mails out cheques paying for services, and for getting things like deposits where they need to be. Nimigon said his company has transitioned to online payments, which has been a big headache.
With an online database of about 6,000 items, McElwain hopes to be back selling soon. It’s more than just her business at stake – she stays home to care for her elderly father and autistic daughter every day. If the strike stretches much longer, she says she’ll be forced to go out and look for another job.
“I don’t really have a backup plan. I keep thinking ‘tomorrow is going to be the day’. I feel completely caught in the middle – sitting by, watching my savings drain away,” she said.
Even if the strike were to end soon, McElwain is worried she’s lost some customers for good. She’s had eight orders that have already been posted cancelled over the past 10 days, another 12 items stuck in transit, and 48 more at home waiting to be shipped.
“Even if they get back up and running tomorrow, it’s going to take weeks to get things going again, to get through the backlog. My stuff isn’t making it to the U.S. for Christmas, so I’m screwed either way,” she said.
