Residents in Sachs Harbour, N.W.T., hoping to receive mail before the holidays
The N.W.T.’s most northern community relies on Canada Post for goods they can’t buy in the hamlet
The general manager of the store in Sachs Harbour, N.W.T. says she is hoping for mail to start arriving again on Thursday.
"In small communities like this, because we don't have FedEx or Purolator, it is very important to have our mail come in," said Angela Keogak, the general manager of the Ikahuk Co-op, which is also the community's post office.
She says she received a call earlier this week that her store could begin accepting parcels from Canada Post and that it would begin receiving mail, as early as Thursday. Keogak says that community members will order things like clothes that they can't buy in town and many are waiting for Christmas gifts to arrive.
John Lucas Jr. is the chair of the Sachs Harbour Community Corporation.
"There must be a mountain of Sachs Harbour mail sitting somewhere. I'm waiting for a package myself. But yeah the Canada Post strike disrupted the community big time," he said.
Lucas Jr. said he was happy to hear that mail could be received and delivered again and is hopeful they can get their gifts before Christmas.
The Canada Post strike that started on November 15 was ended after the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered a return to work.
This complied with an order two days earlier from federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, who directed the board to order 55,000 striking workers back to work if a deal could not be reached.
Interviews by Hilary Bird