Canada Post strike causes drop in Salvation Army donations, charity says

TORONTO — The Salvation Army says rotating strikes at Canada Post have resulted in a drastic drop in donations to the charity in the middle of the critical holiday season.

John McAlister, the charity’s spokesman, says it usually receives the majority of donation cheques in November and December, but this year the pile of envelopes coming in is looking a lot smaller.

McAlister blamed the rotating mail strikes for a 40 per cent decline in the number of donations its direct mail program has received so far.

Disruptions to the postal service have been occurring since Oct. 22, when members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers began holding rotating walkouts to push for their contract demands.

The job action has caused backlogs and mounting quantities of unsorted mail and packages at postal depots.

McAlister says the decline in donations puts a strain on the 1.7 million people the charity helps annually.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press