End of Canada Post strike welcome news to small businesses

November 26, 2018 – Small businesses can breathe a sigh of relief at the announcement that the Canada Post strike has ended. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is pleased the federal government has listened to small business by doing what was necessary to ensure postal service can resume ahead of the holiday season.

"Small business owners depend on Canada Post to send and receive payments and get customer orders out," said CFIB president Dan Kelly. "The weeks leading to Christmas can represent a huge chunk of annual sales for retailers. The strike was quickly becoming an emergency for many small firms and for Canadian consumers at this very important time of year. The government made the right decision to introduce back to work legislation."

A recent survey of CFIB members found that 71 per cent supported legislating the postal workers back to work. Two thirds of small businesses reported they had been negatively affected by the strike, at an average cost of $3,000. In fact, 67 per cent suffered cash flow interruptions as a result of delayed cheques and invoices, and 53 per cent had to switch to a more expensive delivery service.

"Back to work legislation is never an easy choice, but it will help salvage the holiday season for small firms and consumers. We’re relieved to see Canada Post back to work and hope the Corporation and the union can reach a long-lasting agreement to ensure Canada Post can become a low-cost and reliable option for small business," concluded Kelly.

For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Milena Stanoeva, CFIB
647-464-2814
public.affairs@cfib.ca 

About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 110,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.