Sorry to hear that, mate. I havent dealt with that seller before, but it might be from the strike going on up there. Heres what the Montreal Gazette said on June 8, 2011. Hope thats all it is and your stuff does show up after all.
OTTAWA — Strike action by postal workers will step up and stretch across Canada Thursday morning, as more than 800 workers were set to hit the picket lines from east to west.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced Wednesday night it will escalate its pressure on Canada Post and hold 24-hour strikes in more than a dozen cities.
Workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., were set to drop their mail bags at 11:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, to be joined the next morning by union locals in Labrador City, N.L., Acadie-Bathurst, N.B., Summerside, P.E.I., Ste. Therese, Que., St. Jerome, Que., Hearst, Ont., Brantford, Ont., St. Thomas, Ont., Flin Flon, Man., Yellowknife, Whitehorse and Vernon, B.C.
"We need to maintain and create good jobs, not cut back on jobs in our communities," said CUPW president Denis Lemelin in a statement. "Smaller communities also benefit from having access to increased services at their post offices. We are asking Canada Post to address these demands."
The announcement marks a major addition to the one-day rotating strikes the union will continue to hold, which have already suspended service for 24 hours in Winnipeg, Hamilton, Montreal, Victoria, Moncton, N.B., and most recently, Calgary and Edmonton, whose workers will return to work on Thursday.
The widespread job action also came in the wake of Canada Post announcing earlier Wednesday that the rotating strikes have forced it to cut staff and mail delivery in urban areas to contain costs.
A day earlier, the Crown corporation said Canadians were mailing as little as half of their average amount since postal workers first went on strike last week.
Along with fewer staff in plants, mail in urban areas will be delivered only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Delivery in rural areas, parcels and pickup services will not be affected. Post offices will remain open as usual. Social security cheques won't be affected by delivery cutbacks.
Despite the financial damage the stoppages are wreaking, Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton remained steadfast in the corporation's position.
"We believe this strike activity is unnecessary and incredibly harmful to our business," he told Postmedia News. "Every day they do this is a day that they're pushing our customers away."
He reiterated that the corporation has put forth a "generous" offer, and that it cannot entertain the union's demands for additional employees because it would mean either a hike in consumer prices or in taxes.
"We're hopeful the union will come to us with realistic proposals that will help us ensure the future of the company," Hamilton said.
Canada Post has brought the negotiating process one step closer to a full-scale strike, said George Smith, a labour relations expert at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.
The idea that rotating strikes would put pressure on the corporation without causing inconvenience to the public is no longer true, he said.
Both sides are attempting to reach a compromise over wages, sick days and safety issues involving new mail-processing machines.
As a bargaining tactic, rotating strikes can be effective if a settlement seems possible, Smith said. The union can send a message to management that workers are prepared to take serious action. Rotating strikes are also a cheaper alternative than a general strike, since fewer people are drawing strike pay.
For management, Smith said, it makes sense to tolerate a rotating strike if it intends to keep bargaining.
The Canadian Labour Code does not address rotating strikes, Smith said, so in theory, Canada Post could shut them down. The move to tolerate them suggests Canada Post has "some expectation" that bargaining will lead to a settlement without the need for a nationwide strike or lockout.
The problem is that rotating strikes have a limited shelf life. "It's not something that can go on for weeks or months," Smith said. If the public's tolerance wears too thin, customers could start looking to alternatives. Some of those customers, such as small businesses, might even stay away for good, he said.
The union said Wednesday its 13 cities set to strike across the country were chosen to persuade Canada Post to expand service to the public and "maintain decent jobs in communities."
A union spokeswoman said negotiators will present its latest response to Canada Post on Thursday as talks resume.
Read more: http://www.canada.com/business/Postal+strike+spread+across+Canada/4915178/story.html#ixzz1PPfBjBQ4