Small and rural B.C. businesses face shipping cost jump as Canada Post workers strike

Small and rural businesses in B.C. say the financial impact of the Canada Post strike will hit them hard.

With the Crown corporation on strike less than six weeks before Christmas, one retailer says he might not be able to fulfil some orders, and that others will cost more to ship with private couriers. 

"Canada Post has advantages over any other carrier," said Chris Pafiolis, co-owner of SweetLegs, a Kelowna-based clothing company.

Specifically, the Crown corporation charges "drastically less" to deliver to rural areas and, for some parts of the country, is the only service that delivers there, Pafiolis said. It's also the only Canadian carrier that delivers to post office boxes, he said.

As a result, Pafiolis said his customer service team is reaching out to all Canadian customers who've made orders to P.O. boxes to ask if there's an alternative address that SweetLegs can send their package to instead. If they say yes, Pafiolis said the company will pay to ship with a private courier. 

Otherwise, customer orders will have to be cancelled "because there's literally no way to deliver it" during the strike, he said.

Pafiolis said the business, which he runs with his wife, ships about 25 per cent of its orders with Canada Post. In recent years, it's fulfilled around 100,000 orders annually, meaning up to 25,000 packages would normally go through Canada Post.

This year, the total may be lower. Pafiolis said the uncertainty right before Black Friday is distressing, and could affect the long-term growth of businesses like his.

"Traditionally, Black Friday has been a time where we gain new customers and also … [sell] our inventory that's not moving to flush it out to provide space for new inventory, and also [bring in] cash flow to reinvest into new products that we have coming down the line for the following year."

Shipping packages with other companies can cost 50 to 100 per cent more, Pafiolis said. As a result, he said online shoppers should expect to see fewer companies offering free shipping.

"When you select free shipping, it might cost me up to $20 to ship that package [with Canada Post]. And right now with Canada Post gone, some of those shipping costs are $30 or $40 to get you one package," he said.

Catherine Forbes, co-owner of Tomic Lures, normally ships about 95 per cent of her company's fishing tackle orders with Canada Post. Forbes said her company, based in Gold River, B.C., is facing astronomical prices when trying to ship with other couriers.

For instance, she said she recently paid about $17 to ship a package to Parksville, B.C. through Canada Post. To get an idea of what could lie ahead in the next few weeks, Forbes also sought quotes for the same package from other companies — she said they came back at $95 and $31.

In another example, she said a recent package to Alaska with Canada Post cost her about $31, whereas with other companies it would cost $385 or $107.