Canada Post strike jeopardizing fundraising drives for charities

The Canada Post strike couldn’t have come at a worse time for Canadian charities as a number of key fundraising drives are being put on hold.

About 55,000 employees represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers walked off the job on Nov. 15, shutting down operations and halting deliveries as the busy holiday season kicks off.

The Scott Mission provides 64,000 meals, 6,000 bags of groceries and Christmas toys for children. It is among many charities that rely on donations to help thousands of individuals and families in need, adding the disruption is putting those vital donations at risk.

“If you look at the percentage of people giving, about 70 per cent donate through snail mail and only 30 per cent give by online,” CEO Peter Duraisami tells CityNews.

“The needs increase dramatically once it’s winter, once it’s cold. We have about 10,000 people living on the streets, how is this going to affect them? The number of people coming in, we’ve seen dramatic growth.”

Duraisami says the best way to give is through its website or people can simply call or drop off monetary donations.

The Toronto Humane Society (THS) is also concerned about the strike jeopardizing their ability to connect with donors, noting a large portion of their supporters prefer to send donations through the mail.

With no apparent end in sight to the strike, CEO Phil Nichols is asking donors to be prepared for phone calls and emails this giving season while warning that scammers are also potentially taking advantage of the switch in communications.

“To avoid the risk of a malicious attempt or somebody pretending to be the organization that you want to support, go to the known places of contact that you have for those organizations. So go to their website that you know is their website. Go to the office that you know is their office,” explained Nichols.

Despite the presence of Ottawa’s top mediator appointed last week, Canada Post and the postal workers union say “a lot of ground” remains in their talks.

The union is calling for a cumulative wage hike of 24 per cent over four years, while Canada Post has offered an 11.5 per cent increase.

Other wedge issues include job security, benefits and contract work for parcel delivery on weekends

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report