Possible Canada Post strike creating anxiety for Ottawa small businesses

Some Ottawa small business owners are fearing the worst about what a Canada Post strike could mean for their bottom line.

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Frederick Boivin is the owner of ByWard Market store Pat Flesher Furs. As the holiday season begins, he makes sure his store is presentable for customers looking to purchase a new coat.

But with a potential Canada Post strike, he's worried about how his online sales would be affected.

"It would be terrible" Boivin says. "We do lots of shipping in the United States and Europe."

On Wednesday, Canada Post presented its latest contract offer to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. The union announced earlier in the week that its members voted to support a strike by today if a deal could not be reached.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has yet to issue a strike notice. The Crown corporation says both sides have agreed not to give the required 72-hour notice of a strike or lockout "as long as the talks are productive."

Canada Post says operations are continuing as normal.

Boivin uses Canada post services for his shipments. He says sales throughout the year online are consistent, but notes that he and other business owners feel the strike couldn't happen at a worse time, with most of his out-of-town revenue coming in November and December.

"The strike doesn't fall at a good time for Christmas at all. So, it's going to affect everybody," he said.

Business experts say a postal worker strike could be devastating for many retailers.

"There's not a lot of capacity in the system to switch for many retailers. So, while there are alternatives, those alternatives often are higher cost or just not able to fulfill the demand that might happen if the if a big player like Canada Post was taken out of the system," said Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Business.

"We're talking millions and millions of dollars of impact every single day, or hour, when the postal strike would take effect."

Businesses may also have to consider port strikes in Montreal and possibly British Columbia.

"If you have a problem sourcing your goods as a retailer because of port strikes, and then you have a problem to get your goods to the final consumer because of a postal strike, it's anyone's guess how you'll finish the year," Kelly said.

Canada Post presented its latest contract offer last week, which included annual wage increases amounting to 11.5 per cent over four years.

Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon met last Thursday with the union and Canada Post management to encourage them to reach a negotiated settlement.

With files from The Canadian Press