Small and rural B.C. businesses face shipping cost jump as Canada Post workers strike [Video]

Small and rural businesses in B.C. say the financial impact of the Canada Post strike will hit them hard.

With the Crown corporation on strike less than six weeks before Christmas, one retailer says he might not be able to fulfil some orders, and that others will cost more to ship with private couriers. 

“Canada Post has advantages over any other carrier,” said Chris Pafiolis, co-owner of SweetLegs, a Kelowna-based clothing company.

Specifically, the Crown corporation charges “drastically less” to deliver to rural areas and, for some parts of the country, is the only service that delivers there, Pafiolis said. It’s also the only Canadian carrier that delivers to post office boxes, he said.

As a result, Pafiolis said his customer service team is reaching out to all Canadian customers who’ve made orders to P.O. boxes to ask if there’s an alternative address that SweetLegs can send their package to …