LIVE UPDATES: Canada Post workers resume striking

The union representing Canada’s postal workers has called for a cross-country strike in the wake of the federal government clearing the way for major reforms to Canada Post.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said it was “outraged and appalled” by the changes announced Thursday.

“In response to the government’s attack on our postal service and workers, effective immediately, all CUPW members at Canada Post are on a nationwide strike,” CUPW said in a statement.

Joël Lightbound, the minister responsible for Canada Post, announced a number of changes Thursday, including allowing Canada Post to end home delivery. About four million addresses still receive that service.

Lightbound said Canada Post will also now be able to adjust how it delivers mail, so that non-urgent post can move by ground instead of air at a cost savings of $20 million annually.

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‘The goal, ultimately, is to save Canada Post,’ minister says of postal service transformation

Joël Lightbound, minister of public works, was asked Thursday what makes the government think people will accept major changes to how Canada Post operates, particularly around door-to-door delivery.

The modernization plan also includes lifting the 1994 moratorium on closing rural post offices that covers nearly 4,000 locations — many of which the government says were once rural and have since become urban post offices.

The government is arguing that the changes are necessary to keep the Crown corporation — which is on track to lose $1.5 billion in 2025 — afloat.

“The bottom line is this: Canada Post is effectively insolvent,” Lightbound said earlier Thursday.

“It provides an essential service to Canadians, and in particular to rural, remote and Indigenous communities, and Canadians are rightfully attached to it and want it saved. However, repeated bailouts from the federal government are not the solution.”

The Crown corporation has 45 days to submit a cost-savings plan to the government.