TORONTO — The average number of letters people receive has dropped significantly over the years — down to just two per week compared to seven per week in 2006, according to Canada Post.
Nevertheless, when you do get the odd envelope, it’s likely for a good reason: a government notice, bank update or other crucial missive that can’t be transmitted online.
The ongoing postal strike is highlighting just how important that mail can be, said Marvin Ryder, a professor with McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business in Hamilton.
“People forgot,” Ryder suggested of the key role provided by snail mail.
“They simply forgot about things like renewing a passport. There are over 80,000 passports waiting in Mississauga. They’ve been printed, they’re ready to go, but we deliver them by letter mail.”
Now three weeks in, the strike’s effects are hard to miss. Here are some of the things affected by the mail shutdown:
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
Canadians waiting on government documents, such as passports and health cards, can expect delays.
The federal government says those who didn’t pay extra to pick up their passports will be affected. Those who need the document urgently are advised to call Service Canada or visit in person to request the passport be made available for pickup instead.
In Ontario, the government is telling people waiting for a health card renewal that they can receive emergency medical care at a hospital or clinic.
It also says people should keep their receipt as temporary proof that they qualify for provincial health insurance, which they can use with their expired health card.
AT-HOME HEALTH SCREENING
Provinces that send residents at-home cancer screening kits are warning people not to send them back by mail during the strike.
That includes Ontario residents who get a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kit by mail to screen for colorectal cancer. Typically, recipients would mail their stool sample to a lab. Now, the province is telling people to deliver their sample in person.
In British Columbia, much of the cervical self-screening process has been put on hold. That test, which involves swabbing the vagina, screens for HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer. If the sample doesn’t reveal HPV, the patient can forego a Pap test.
The province says it isn’t mailing kits during the Canada Post strike, and those who have them shouldn’t complete them until the labour disruption is over.
Residents who want a kit can order one now, but it won’t be sent until Canada Post resumes service.