Business

Still no deal between Canada Post and its striking staff

Negotiations between Canada Post and the union for postal workers are still on hold as of Monday afternoon, though both sides have said they're working to get back to the table.

Both sides looking to 'restart' negotations with mediator

Workers bundled in winter clothing hold up picket signs that say, "CUPW Scarborough Local On Strike."
Canada Post workers hold a rally at a Scarborough mail facility on Nov. 25. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

Negotiations between Canada Post and the union for postal workers are still on hold as of Monday afternoon, though both sides have said they're working to get back to the table.

Canada Post said it's waiting for the union to respond after it offered its new model for negotiations over the weekend. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has said it made some "adjustments" to the corporation's suggestion "in hopes that he will restart the mediation process."

"As of now the mediator has not informed us of a restart, but the union is ready," a statement read.

On Sunday, the corporation said the plan included proposals to bring greater flexibility to Canada Post's delivery model and shows "movement on other key issues" in the labour dispute.

The government had appointed a mediator to help the two sides reach an agreement, but that mediator put discussions on hold last week after finding the parties were too far apart on key issues to find a deal.

WATCH | What's holding Canada Post and workers back from a deal: 

Why Canada Post and its striking workers can’t reach a deal | About That

4 days ago
Duration 10:13
Mediation talks between Canada Post and the union representing its workers broke down almost two weeks into the countrywide strike. Andrew Chang explains what the two sides hope to achieve, and why they're still so far apart.

In a post on X Sunday, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said he had spoken with both sides, reminding them "that it is their duty and responsibility to resolve differences in a dispute that is impacting so many Canadians." 

He said mediation will only resume "once the special mediator has clear evidence that both parties have sufficiently modified their respective positions."

Tens of thousands of mail carriers walked off the job on Nov. 15, halting deliveries of letters and packages at the start of the holiday shipping season. With the strike entering its third week, the U.S. Postal Service has now stopped accepting Canada-bound mail for the time being.

Watching out for mail scams

Equifax Canada and the Better Business Bureau are also warning Canadians about mail scams.

The former said there has been an "exponential" rise in fraud attempts since the strike started, ranging from phishing emails to deepfake phone calls.

"Any time there is a major political event, a major strike or anything like that, we'll see an uptick," said Octavia Howell, chief information security officer at Equifax Canada.

"Not only is there a Canada Post strike ... it's the holidays."

WATCH | How the strike is affecting Black Friday packages: 

How the Canada Post strike could leave your Black Friday packages in limbo

4 days ago
Duration 2:14
With the two-week-old Canada Post strike leaving many packages in limbo during Black Friday shopping events, many Canadians have little choice but to spend more on private shipping companies as Christmas gets closer.

Scams related to parcels and deliveries typically tick up in step with online shopping orders this time of year, but the work stoppage at Canada Post has led to even more fraud attempts amid the confusion around shipments, Howell said.

Comprehensive figures on the latest batch of scams are not yet available from Equifax Canada, but the credit bureau's daily internal updates have marked the rise nonetheless.

Rather than the roughly half-dozen daily consumer fraud reports of previous increases, Equifax Canada's investigations team is filing up to "87 in one report in one day coming from the same IP addresses," said Howell.

She called the trend "insidious."

"We're seeing exponential growth in the amount of scams that are actually happening ... because, one, holidays, and then two, people aren't able to get their shipments out," she said.

People in jackets and yellow vests stand outside a building with a sign reading "Canada Post."
Canada Post employees and supporters rally at Canada Post headquarters in Ottawa on Thursday. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The Better Business Bureau warned the public to "watch out for fake package delivery offers during Canada's postal strike."

It advised potential victims to verify delivery services, avoid unsolicited shipment offers from little-known companies and check for accreditation by the bureau before selecting a service.

It also noted that scammers may send false messages that claim to be from Canada Post or another carrier, asking for payment for undelivered items or offering "priority service."

"Do not click on links in unsolicited emails or texts. Instead, visit the official website of the courier service for updates," the bureau said.

Canada Post said it never contacts users about a delivery via text or email unless the notification has been requested.

The corporation has asked Canadians to be on guard for telltale signs of a phishing scam or fraud attempt, including poor grammar, imagery inconsistent with Canada Post logos or a tracking number at odds with its standard format.