Canada Post strike ‘coming at a cost’ to some P.E.I. businesses and non-profits [Video]

From producing specialty metal products to charitable fundraising, some businesses and organizations on P.E.I. are in a bind as the Canada Post strike nears the end of its fourth week.

It’s the busiest time of year for online store owner Kaye Chen, who on average ships 20 to 30 orders a day throughout the month of December.

“Without Canada Post, it is so crazy frustrating,” said Chen, who would typically use the postal service to get all of those products to their buyers. 

Now, she’s using private couriers and it’s costing her in fees — and customers. She’s paying about $2 more for every order going to the United States and $8 more for products going further than that.

And she’s not passing that extra cost along to her customers: “I paid the difference. I didn’t charge back to the customer.”

Since the strike began on Nov. 15, she estimates …