Labour Issues & Strikes: 1) How Canada Post’s most recent strike will affect City of Barrie mail services; 2)Canada Post tables new offers to striking postal workers; 3)(Updated) Most door-to-door mail delivery to end amid sweeping changes to Canada Post; 4) Upcoming Georgian College campus closures are ‘personal and professional’ for local OPSEU president; 5)Air Canada Article: Our Commitment to You
1) How Canada Post’s most recent strike will affect City of Barrie mail services
Courtesy Barrie360.com
By Julius Hern, September 26, 2025
Thursday’s national strike by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has forced many cities to alter their mailing operations once again, including Barrie.
Despite Canada Post’s operational shutdown, the City of Barrie continues to remind property owners and residents that they are still obligated to pay bills and any fines by the due date.
Many payments that some may make by mail can be made either in-person, online, or by phone.
WATER/WASTEWATER AND TAX BILLS
These bills can be paid via online banking or other payment service providers. The City also encourages residents to sign up for the property tax pre-authorized payment plan.
Residents can also sign up for water e-billing by creating an online water billing account, which will receive notifications regarding payments.
As for in-person payments, they can be made at a bank, or at Barrie City Hall through service Barrie or by cheque at the dropboxes near the front entrance of the building.
For any cheques mailed for the September 29 property tax due date after September 19, residents will need to contact Service Barrie to confirm its receipt.
If a cheque has not been received, the bill must be paid through an alternate method by September 29. Once Canada Post resumes regular operations and the City receives delayed mail, the City will review accounts before processing cheque payments to ensure they should still be deposited.
COURT SERVICES
The City asks that residents do not mail payments for tickets, and opt to pay online or by phone. Trial requests or applications must be emailed or attended to in-person.
Administrative penalty orders may be delivered by an alternate courier, and can be paid through most Canadian banks, in-person, or by phone.
Payments for parking tickets are accepted online for a period of 75 days from the date issued.
2)Canada Post tables new offers to striking postal workers
Courtesy Barrie360.com andCanadian Press
By Canadian Press Staff, October 3, 2025
Canada Post workers are joined by CUPE union members as they hold a rally outside MP Julie Dabrusin’s office in Toronto on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Canada Post’s latest contract offers to striking postal workers has many of the same terms as its “final offers” in May but removes a signing bonus and now has provisions related to the job cuts expected ahead.
The offers presented Friday come a little over a week after the federal government announced plans to transform the financially strapped service, including ending daily mail delivery, closing some rural post offices and moving almost all Canadian households to community mailboxes.
The roughly 55,000-member Canadian Union of Postal Workers said the decision was direct attack on workers as it promptly declared a countrywide strike.
Canada Post has supported the planned changes and its latest offer includes provisions to see it through the expected shrinking of the service, including a temporary suspension of its “job security for life” terms as it goes through the transformation, as well as lifting a moratorium on the closure of 493 corporate post offices in urban and suburban areas.
The corporation said it plans to offer voluntary departure incentives of up to 78 weeks base pay and will only use layoffs if other methods like attrition and voluntary departures don’t achieve the needed reduction targets.
The offer includes many of the same terms presented in May, including a 13.59 per cent compounded wage increase over four years, but it has removed a signing bonus, citing a worsening financial picture.
“Canada Post’s new offers are within the limit of what the Corporation can afford while maintaining good jobs and benefits for employees over the long-term,” spokeswoman Lisa Liu said in a statement.
The union said ahead of receiving the offer that it will carefully review and analyze any proposals to see whether they address the needs of postal workers, their families and the public who rely on the service.
It has pushed back against government plans to transform the service, saying any changes need to be made through meaningful consultation, not unilateral action.
3 (Updated) Most door-to-door mail delivery to end amid sweeping changes to Canada Post
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Alessia Passafiume, September 25, 2025
Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday Sept. 24, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Door-to-door mail delivery will end for almost all Canadian households within the next decade, Public Works and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound said Thursday as he ordered sweeping changes in an effort to make the Crown corporation financially viable.
Those changes also will include slowing down the frequency of mail delivery and shuttering some post offices.
Lightbound said the changes are meant to shore up Canada Post’s finances adding that the corporation “needs to show a path to financial viability.”
The minister said the federal government will accept all of the recommendations in the Industrial Inquiry Commission’s report on Canada Post, which also called for the introduction of more community mailboxes.
“Canada Post is a national institution, older than our country itself, that has been serving Canadians for more than 150 years. For generations, postal workers have connected communities in every corner of the country, providing an essential lifeline to hundreds of northern, Indigenous and rural communities,” Lightbound said.
“At the same time, Canada Post is now facing an existential crisis,” he added. “Repeated bailouts from the federal government are not the solution.”
The change to mail delivery is expected to increase the time it takes Canada Post to deliver letter mail from an average of three to four days to an average of three to seven days.
Four million Canadians will also see their service switch from door-to-door delivery to a community mailbox model, and some post offices will be closed for good. Lightbound said that change could generate $400 million per year in savings.
Lightbound said more than three in four households don’t have door-to-door delivery now, but there has been a moratorium in place on expanding the use of community mailboxes. That moratorium is ending, he said.
Ottawa predicts it will take up to nine years to introduce community mailboxes for all four million households, but most of them will switch within three to four years.
Canada Post has 45 days to come back to the federal government with a plan to implement the changes.
The federal government cited the shrinking volume of letter mail and Canada Post’s small share of the parcel market as reasons for the pivot.
It says Canada Post needs to change to achieve financial sustainability and maintain reliable service.
Lightbound said Canada Post loses $10 million every day and has needed regular federal bailouts to keep its operations afloat.
He said that while Ottawa will not stop helping Canada Post through its financial difficulties, the Crown corporation needs to cut costs to keep the lights on.
Canada Post welcomed the changes in a statement, saying they will allow it to chart a strong path forward that is in line with the changing needs of Canadians.
“We take this responsibility seriously and will work closely with the government and our employees to move with urgency and implement the necessary changes in a thoughtful manner,” said president and CEO Doug Ettinger.
“Our goal is to ensure that a strong, affordable, Canadian-made, Canadian-run delivery provider supports the needs of today’s economy and delivers to every community across the country.”
The commission also recommended changes to Canada Post’s collective agreement to allow the Crown corporation to hire part-time employees for weekends to help with the weekday load.
In a media statement released Wednesday, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said they were not informed the announcement was coming and did not know the details.
Pressure is mounting on Canada Post and the union representing 55,000 postal workers to reach a new agreement before the critical holiday season.
After nearly two years of negotiations, the sides are showing few signs of progress. The parties have been far apart on wages and on restructuring the collective agreement to allow for a corps of part-time workers and weekend delivery.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers earlier this month instituted a flyer ban but has stopped short of picketing since the federal government intervened to quash a holiday strike late last year.
“The timing of the announcement coupled with new global offers could reveal a lot about Canada Post’s plans for bargaining, our jobs and the future of the public post office,” Canadian Union of Postal Workers national president Jan Simpson said in a media statement.
“If Canada Post drops its demands to gut the contracts and deal with our issues, we can come to an agreement quickly. If they ignore the overwhelming vote to reject their vision from the employees that do the work, they are proving they have no intention to achieve negotiated collective agreements.”
In a media statement issued Thursday, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses said reform of Canada Post is long overdue.
“While we welcome today’s news, there’s still no deal between Canada Post and the union,” said president Dan Kelly.
“The union’s most recent job action banning flyers was another blow to small businesses. At this critical time of year, the last thing small businesses can afford is another strike. We urge the government to provide certainty and work proactively to prevent another labour disruption by temporarily making Canada Post an essential service.”
4) Upcoming Georgian College campus closures are ‘personal and professional’ for local OPSEU president
Courtesy Barrie360.com
By Julius Hern, October 2, 2025
When Georgian College announced Friday that it would be shuttering the Orillia and Muskoka campuses in the summer of 2026, it became more than just a professional matter for Angela Foster.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 349 president organized and picketed alongside hundreds of fellow union members Thursday at the Orillia campus in support of uncontracted support workers and to bring attention to the upcoming campus closures.
Over 500 people were expected to picket alongside the campus entrance on Memorial Avenue, with many coming from Georgian campuses in Barrie, Owen Sound, and Midland.
Other striking union members were bused in from other communities in the region, including Durham College in Oshawa and Fleming College in Lindsay. It is one of five OPSEU demonstrations happening Thursday.
“We need people to understand how important post-secondary education is to our community, Foster said to Barrie360. “When this campus closes, we are taking about 1,600 jobs out of this community and millions of dollars of economic impact.”
Thursday marks the beginning of a fourth week of striking, which the OPSEU began September 11.
Foster is affected by the closure in more ways than one. Her son, Wyatt, is currently enrolled in the construction techniques program at the Muskoka campus. While his program will end before the campus closure, it’s still a quagmire.
“It’s personal and it’s professional,” she says. “He’s absolutely loving his experience at Georgian, minus the services that he would really like to be able to access. But yeah, he’s pretty upset.”
Angela has worked at Georgian College as support staff for 24 years, and was elected local union chapter president in 2024.
While Wyatt attended class Thursday in Bracebridge and was unable to join his mom on the line, the support has been consistent from students.
Seen from Memorial Avenue, pleas from striking OPSEU members posted on the fence at Georgian’s Orillia campus. Photo—Julius Hern/Barrie360
With the demonstrations happening so close to the campus residences, many students couldn’t help but look on. Some students picketed alongside their instructors.
“It feels like I actually have a purpose, and like I have a home and a family that will come together,” said second-year early childhood education student Grace Wootton. “Hopefully students will come and join, because it’s not just the staff, it’s students that get impacted as well.”
“It means a lot to stick up for our school and protect what we want,” said classmate Hayleigh Craig.
Many picketers sported creative signage, including some that wrote ‘straight outta funding,’ ‘resist the empire,’ and ‘honk for education.’ Some drivers did honk as they passed by.
The rally officially started at 7 a.m., with it set to run to about 4 p.m., according to Foster. With vehicles being blocked by union members from entering the campus, eastbound traffic was backed up from the campus onto Highway 11 (nearly 1.5 kilometres) within the first 90 minutes.
“We’re clearly causing a disruption and we’re showing these people that this is a community, the college matters, the people matter at it,” said Ian McBain, a Fish and Wildlife Technologist at Fleming College who joined the demonstration.
Additionally, the plan for the campus’ programs to be consolidated into Barrie is drawing ire from students and faculty alike.
“Their reaction to the campus closures is devastation,” Foster adds. “They chose Orillia because it’s a small campus. It feels like a family when you walk inside those doors. The smaller classes, the smaller building… they don’t want to move to Barrie.”
“We all know that there’s a housing crisis in both Barrie and Orillia right now,” said another picketing instructor. “We know that there are food banks that are pushed to their limits. We know that there’s other other social factors around housing, food security, all of these things, that will now be magnified in Barrie.”
Friday, Georgian College announced its Orillia and Muskoka campuses will be closing and sold as a cost-saving measure for the institution. It said in a news release that the decision will save the college approximately $23.5 million over the next five years.
“It’s the right decision for the long-term sustainability of the college and the success of our students,” Georgian College president Kevin Weaver said in a statement.
“Here we have specialized labs for all of our students,” Foster says “We have a vet clinic for our veterinary technician and veterinary assistant students and there isn’t that in the Barrie campus. Georgian is going to have to spend a lot more money to recreate all of those specialty areas and labs on the Barrie campus, so I’m not sure how they’re really going to be saving that much money.”
Foster also questions why the college would give large raises to its executives, knowing it is set for a deficit of at least $13 million next year.
“The fact that they are closing three campuses and our senior leaders here at the College took huge pay raises in the last year while they’re saying that ‘we don’t have any money and we have to close campuses’ is really disappointing.”
Weaver’s 2023 salary, for example, increased 11.2 per cent (nearly $34,000) in 2024 to just over $334,000. Of his colleagues, 21 earned raises of a higher percentage over the same period, with two of those receiving increases of approximately $74,000 and $60,000 respectively.
With the College Employer Council having stepped away from the bargaining table, according to Foster, there’s a lot left to be desired moving forward.
“I’d like to see some sort of negotiations happen in good faith for those folks,” she says. “I’d like to see students continue to raise their voice and say, ‘here’s exactly why this is problematic for me,’ I’d love to see more community members, which we’re seeing today out here, raise that flag and say, ‘how is this going to impact local businesses?'”
5) Air Canada Article: Our Commitment to You
September 30, 2025
Resolving every claim submitted during the recent labour disruption quickly and accurately is our first priority. Here’s an overview of our progress to date.
Resolving every claim submitted during the recent labour disruption quickly and accurately is our first priority. Here’s an overview of our progress to date.
Open Expense Claims
Speeding up the claims process
Refunds may be reviewed and processed separately from reimbursement claims for expenses such as accommodations, meals, and tickets booked on other airlines/alternative transportation.
If we notice something missing from your submission, you can expect to hear from us.
Out-of-town expenses
Recognizing the diverse challenges our customers have faced during this disruption, we are approaching each situation with flexibility and care.
If you were a customer on an Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge flight scheduled between August 15, 2025, and August 23, 2025, your flight was cancelled, and you were unable to return home, you can submit your reasonable expenses, such as overnight accommodations and meals, for reimbursement.
This is in addition to reimbursing other reasonable transportation costs under our flexible rebooking policy if we were unable to rebook you.
All claims should be submitted on our Reimbursement Assistance – Labour Disruption pageExternal site which may not meet accessibility guidelines and/or language preferences., and be supported by receipts and a brief explanation.
Alternative Transportation
If you booked your own alternative transportation, we have made an exception to our standard policy so that you are eligible for reimbursement of a reasonable fare on another airlineExternal site which may not meet accessibility guidelines and/or language preferences. if:
you had an Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge flight scheduled to depart between August 15, 2025, and August 23, 2025, that was cancelled,
you received an email from Air Canada stating we were unable to rebook you, or you were offered alternative flight options that would depart more than 5 days from your original departure,
you chose a flight in the same or lower cabin than your original flight,
you chose flights or alternative transportation options (e.g. bus, ferry, car, etc.) between the same origin and destination (including departing from another airport in the same city) with the same travelling companions on your booking (changes to connecting points or adding/removing connections are eligible, as long as you chose a continuous journey),
your alternative transportation option departed within 5 days of your cancelled flight, and
you booked the most reasonable and economical option(s) for your alternative travel, which prioritized reaching your destination as soon as possible.
More information
We’re working to resolve the refund and reimbursement claims submitted following the recent labour disruption, and we’re committed to making this right.
For any upcoming travel, rest assured that Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights are operating as scheduled. We have started arbitration with flight attendants represented by CUPE, and there will be no strike or lockout. You can plan, book and travel with full confidence.
We’ll continue to update this page with more details, definitions, our claims resolution progress, and answers to your most Frequently Asked Questions. If you check this page often, make sure to clear your browser’s cache occasionally to see the latest updates.
Frequently Asked Questions: See: https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/book/travel-news-and-updates/2025/ac-action.html#/