TIABC Voice of Tourism Newsletter – December 20, 2024

While cleaning out the crawlspace a few months ago, I discovered postcards from various places that I had sent my then-girlfriend, now wife, while backpacking through Europe. Although it was somewhat amusing to read my chicken scratch from decades ago, I was more interested in the origin of the postcards and the colourful international stamps affixed to each one.

Back in the day, sending postcards to close family and friends from a far-flung destination was common practice even when you knew you’d arrive home before the postcard did.

Today, smartphones and digital technology have nearly rendered postcards obsolete but one can still find them in gift shops throughout BC to appease a certain market segment that appreciates the tradition of a handwritten note to mail to a loved one while on vacation. I doubt that postcard sales are strong at this time of the year but even if they were, any visitor that wanted to mail one home from BC over the last few weeks was stymied by the national postal strike.

Notwithstanding the persistent challenge of trying to find stamps, regular mail and package deliveries were halted when Canada Post employees walked off the job just over a month ago resulting in an estimated $100 million a day in losses to small businesses collectively across the country. Given the size of our province and the reach of Canada Post to rural areas that lack service by other delivery companies, tens of thousands of operators, including many in tourism, experienced the ramifications.

I particularly sympathize with retailers who count on the Christmas season to generate substantial revenues to sustain them through the slower months of January and February. Same goes for charities that rely heavily on year-end donations. By being forced to use other couriers instead of the much cheaper Canada Post, their shipping costs for marketing collateral and goods such as gifts went up considerably during the strike period.

Mercifully, Canada’s Industrial Relations Board stepped in this week and ordered workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), to get back to their jobs and help clear the backlog of bills, letters, parcels, notices, and other packages…even the odd postcard. But why did it take so long for the federal government to initiate an end to the strike at a time when Canada’s economy is teetering, and especially after multiple appeals by business groups for the feds to intervene on behalf of reeling SMEs?

For the record, TIABC supports collective bargaining and prefers disputes to be settled between the respective parties at the bargaining table. However, similar to the strike situations this past summer involving trains and (almost) planes that also impacted businesses, we expected the government to act more quickly in the best interests of all Canadians that rely on Canada Post which, in our view, should be considered an essential service permanently rather than only during situations like the pandemic.

Unfortunately the damage has been done this holiday season considering it will take weeks or maybe months to clear the system and resume normal delivery for customers that depend on Canada Post. Suffice it to say, 2024 will go down as a bad year for labour unrest at the national level.

Although I stopped sending postcards from exotic destinations a long time ago, I still mail hand-written TIABC thank you notes to colleagues around the province. With the strike over for the time being, I placed a few cards in envelopes with colourful Canadian stamps and deposited them in the mailbox this week, hopeful they will arrive by Christmas 2025.

A reminder that at the end of today our office will be closed until January 6th. On behalf of TIABC’s board and staff, I wish you Season’s Greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year. Thank you for your support this year. I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Walt Judas
CEO, TIABC