Volume of packages increased at Iqaluit post office
“While the Iqaluit Post Office has always been one of the busiest post offices in Canada, it has been processing an even larger volume of packages and mail since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis”
Since April, Iqaluit’s Canada Post office has seen more than a 25 per cent increase in the volume of mail it handles compared to the same period last year. (File photo)
The Iqaluit Canada Post office processed 64 per cent more mail this past June than it did for the same month last year.
According to information provided by Canada Post, between April and June Iqaluit also saw volumes increase by more than 25 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.
“While the Iqaluit Post Office has always been one of the busiest post offices in Canada, it has been processing an even larger volume of packages and mail since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis,” said a Canada Post spokesperson in an email to Nunatsiaq News.
The recent increase in online shopping has again resulted in notoriously long lines at both the main Canada Post office and the parcel warehouse, which have drawn the ire of many Iqaluit residents.
While many complaints are often accompanied by words of support for the local Canada Post staff, the ongoing issue has prompted some to call for further action, including Iqaluit city councillor Kyle Sheppard and Mayor Kenny Bell.
If we want change we need to go to the changemaker, and in this case it’s right to the top. Send your thoughts to Doug.ettinger@canadapost.ca
— Kyle Sheppard (@Maqaiti) July 23, 2020
I came back for a moment to add to this, I reached out to head office, was greeted with rude staff that refused to meet me, they said they had no idea there are any problems here in #Iqaluit and when talking to city staff they blamed our citizens for the way they order ? https://t.co/0QnoEVywGM
— Mayor Bell (@MayorofIqaluit) July 23, 2020
For Canada Post, the main challenge recently has been the backlog of packages waiting to be picked up.
“We often see customers wait until all their orders have arrived before collecting them all at once,” said the spokesperson.
“This choice puts a strain on our operations as we must find space, which is frequently maximized, to sort and store the mail and avoid returning packages to senders.”
But some Iqaluit residents say that it’s not a choice, that the length of the lineup prevents them picking up a package while on a lunch break during business hours.
And this is a response and it’s very true. You have to take half a day off to go to the post office pic.twitter.com/q186FvB3W6
— Frank Reardon Photos (@FrankReardon1) July 24, 2020
The post office is currently open from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
“To help deal with these volumes since this unprecedented time began we have, at times, extended hours during evenings and opened the post office on Saturdays,” said the spokesperson.
Canada Post did not say what plans are in place should the lines continue into the winter, but it did say that it is continually reviewing its processes in order to improve service.
Aside from the influx of packages since the start of the pandemic, the post office has also had to make changes in staffing, staff scheduling, the work environment and work practices in order to give employees sufficient space in all work areas.
“Larger incoming parcel volumes and required safety measures mean that it is taking longer to process mail and serve each customer,” said the spokesperson.
“We thank the community for their continued patience and support for the measures we’ve put in place for everyone’s safety.”
When I’m asked “what do you do?” I jokingly say that I spend my days in the postal line-up. But it’s getting tiresome and when winter comes ridiculous.
The staff are wonderful, but they’re not getting any support from the south. The bureaucrats are blind.
That would be so frustrating to have to wait in long line ups. The up side of this story is that Iqaluit is still able to order from Amazon and get free shipping, unlike other places in Nunavut. When we order from Amazon, we end up paying exorbitant shipping rates because cities like Iqaluit is getting theirs for free. I would not mind standing in line to get my parcels if I knew I had not paid almost half the price of my items in shipping costs. But then mind you, i’m living in a much smaller community with a whole less people. Maybe they need two post offices to service the population? Just a thought.
It is not people waiting till their whole order is in. Amazon ships everything separately so you could go one day and have no slips and go the next and have 6.
You need more hours or more staff. You can’t have 1 employee working with the rest on lunch break. This is not rocket science but for the current management it seems to be.
If Canada Post would pay their Nunavut employees a better wage, they would retain good employees, and those employers would be happier and more committed. Down south, when you are hired by Canada Post, the future is bright and many people decide to make it their long-term term career. Up here, their “isolated post” allowance is not even close to other government-type jobs. It is probably the busiest post office in Canada, and they should be compensated fairly. I nearly accepted a job offer from them, but when I found out what I’d be paid, I decided to keep looking.
This is exactly on the mark.
The long lines could be somewhat shortened if small items are placed directly in the PO boxes. I find its strange that during this Covid times, the management doesn’t see this simple solution. The staff are clearly overwhelmed,underpaid and overworked but with little support from the management. I have waited in line past 6pm and watched 1 person at the counter dealing with customers and what i assume the supervisor was just going in and out to the front without helping the lone staff. Seeing our Mayor’s tweet and head office replied by saying we should look at our spending habits is highly unprofessional on Canada post part.
18 days between scanning out of Montreal and being scanned here. Then another day before I got the card.
We’re ordering Christmas stuff now.
Really disappointing tweet by our mayor there. Throwing people under the bus like that does no one any good in a small town.
He didn’t throw anyone under the bus. He tried to contact head office. They wouldn’t meet with him. He isn’t talking about local staff or frontline workers (who I think we mostly all agree are being overworked with probably not close to enough pay). He’s talking about the people in the big office, probably down south. He is holding them accountable, and keeping us in the loop. I don’t even think he called anyone out by name or a specific position.
The city has grown too big for pick-up only service.
The second warehouse location was opened a few years back temporarily during the Holidays to accommodate larger amounts of parcels, and then just never went back to a single location.
We need to start thinking about home delivery like they do in larger cities.
If Food mail was still around this would not be a problem.
Maybe a temporary solution would be to have designated (“Suggested”) pickup times for certain box numbers?
That way people would be able to go pick up their parcels at a specific time with somewhat shorter lines.
Renovated the old yellow submarine airport, although it is a bit out of the way, it would be a nice location. Right off the runway, no need to transport between two different locations.
That’s a pretty good idea actually.