Canada Post strike leaves Canadians, foreign nationals stuck waiting for critical documents

As the Canada Post labour dispute approaches its second week, Canadians and foreign nationals are saying the mail stoppage is disrupting their lives in alarming ways.

Chinese national Wenqi (Michael) Xu said it might cost him his job. He landed in Toronto three weeks ago to renew his U.S. work visa. He told CBC News he's been stuck in the city ever since, waiting for his passport to be returned to him through Canada Post.

Michael, who works in New York, said he travelled to Toronto because the United States requires that people renew their work visas at a consulate or embassy outside of the country.

Michael said that, so far, he has spent "well over" $4,000 US on hotels, food and other necessities. "And it continues to grow," he added.

On top of the financial impact, Michael said he's worried about keeping his job "because my work basically doesn't let me be here indefinitely."

"I've been in the U.S. for eight years," he said. "I spend the majority of my adult life in the U.S. This is where my social support system is — my friends, my boyfriend. So I'll lose all of that if I lose my job."

Michael said he believes in the right to unionize but he's "begging" all parties in the labour dispute to "consider the human impact." He also said he hopes the government can make other arrangements to deliver important documents like passports to individuals.

On Tuesday, Employment and Social Development Canada said that Service Canada has been holding off on mailing 85,000 passports due to the labour dispute.

Canadians who already have submitted an application and need a passport urgently are being asked to contact the Passport Program at 1-800-567-6868 or make a request in person to have their passport transferred to a Service Canada centre that offers pick-up service.

Waiting on a birth certificate

In Belleville, Ont., Sharn Harrington-Hurst is waiting to receive her birth certificate so she can get a new health card — which she'll need before surgery for a brain aneurysm.

Harrington-Hurst, 71, said she's been in contact with Ontario's Office of the Registrar General "at least once a week" to check on the status of her birth certificate.

"But unfortunately, even if they can process [the birth certificate], they can't get it to me," she said.

Harrington-Hurst, who shared her story with Cross Country Checkup last weekend, said she's "under quite a bit of stress." She said she can't afford to hire a courier to send the certificate and she also has to make arrangements to get to Kingston, Ont., for the operation.

"I have three other surgeries that I'm waiting for, but unfortunately, they all depend on this aneurysm being corrected first," Hurst said in a later interview with CBC News.

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Harrington-Hurst said she understands the position of the striking workers since she struggles to pay her own bills on a pension.

"People are entitled to what they're worth for the job they perform," she said. "But there's still some of us that are struggling every day."

Canada Post workers are continuing to deliver some cheques for government benefits, such as Old Age Security, the Canada Child Benefit and the Canada Pension Plan.

But other critical payments like provincial income assistance and disability assistance are not being delivered by Canada Post carriers. Provinces and territories have made arrangements for those cheques to be picked up at local government offices.

A charity relying on mailed donations

Melanie Langille is the president and CEO of NB Lung, a provincial lung health charity in New Brunswick that delivers patient support, public education and advocacy programs.

Langille said a large number of loyal, long-term donors — many of them seniors — send their donations through the mail. "Obviously, that's on hold right now," she said.

Those donations go to providing direct financial support to people who are undergoing lung transplants and can be used to cover the cost of travelling to Toronto or Montreal for the operation, Langille said.

"There's a lot of out-of-pocket costs that kind of fall through the cracks of what the public health system can cover," she said.

NB Lung has 10 staff members who are encouraging donors to go online or call the charity. But Langille said that outreach is "certainly a daunting task" as their donor list runs to 15,000 people.

Langille also said the charity isn't opposed to labour action and she's a "little bit optimistic that the labour dispute can be resolved in a timely manner."

"But it certainly does have a trickle-down effect on small charities like ours," she said.

In a statement released Thursday, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said its negotiators continued talks with Canada Post with the help of the government-appointed mediators.

Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu said in a media statement on Thursday that "we remain committed to reaching agreements at the bargaining table" and discussions continue with the union to achieve negotiated agreements with the support of the special mediator.

LISTEN: How is the postal strike affecting you?

Cross Country Checkup1:52:58How is the Canada Post strike affecting you?

Whether you're running a small business or live in a rural area, Canada Post is an essential service for many Canadians. There are also people who have very little connection to the postal service as email, online billing and private delivery companies have made many Canadians less reliant on the mail. Then there are other issues: what's fair for workers, particularly after the high inflation of the last few years? What responsibility does management have to control costs? When, if ever, should the government step in? How is the Canada Post strike affecting you, and what do you think should be done about it? In the last half-hour, our AMA on president-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks.