N.B. charities, small businesses worried about impact of postal strike
CBC
Some New Brunswickers say they could face major impacts from the Canada Post strike.
About 55,000 postal workers walked off the job Friday, shutting down Canada Post mail service across the country after their union, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, and the Crown corporation were unable to reach an agreement.
"It'll be pretty devastating," said Jane Buckley, chair of the District 3 food banks, covering Fredericton and a large swath of central and western New Brunswick.
"We do receive a very high percentage of our Christmas donations through the mail — I'm guessing between 30 and 40 per cent," said Buckley.
Some of the factors behind that high rate are donors who are more comfortable paying by mail than electronically, as well as the rural nature of the district, meaning many would have to travel a distance to make donations in person, she said.
Holiday donations make up 30 to 40 per cent of the funds that come in all year, said Buckley.
Donations were already down a bit this year because donors are dealing with higher costs of living and have less disposable income, she said.
"We'll panic. We'll be sad. But we will advertise on social media that there are other ways to donate."
Those ways include direct banking e-transfers to the food bank by email and online payments through Canada Helps and other platforms, said Buckley.
The food bank also has a booth that accepts donations once a month at a Sunday market in Oromocto.
Any charitable organization that conducts fundraising through the mail at this time of year is facing similar challenges, said Buckley.
Women in Transition House, for example, does a mail-out Christmas campaign that is one of its biggest fundraisers of the year, according to a spokesperson for the group.
N.B. Lung receives more than 80 per cent of its donations through the mail and most come during the end-of-year giving season, according to fundraising and marketing manager Dusty Green.
And the Chalmers Hospital Foundation in Fredericton said its holiday mailer will not be able to go out until the strike is over.
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