Maritimers still dealing with delays, missing packages even after mail starts moving again

Despite the end to the nationwide postal strike, Maritimers are still experiencing the effects from it.

Many are still waiting on packages while others say theirs were delayed and just recently received.

Ryan Zepp, who is visiting from Edmonton, Ala., says he hasn't seen the impact as much there but his wife who lives in Halifax has experienced this firsthand.

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“My wife is waiting for some stuff here and it still hasn't arrived and was sent before the strike,” says Zepp.

Still waiting on packages and mail seems to be a common response from Maritimers when asked about the continued impact the postal strike is still having. Even with the mail moving again, the effect seems to be lingering.

Cecil Bouchier from Halifax says he experienced a three-week delay on a package he was waiting for.

"It's starting to come around now, but it wasn't for a while, you know but I don't get too much mail so no need to complain, it will eventually come. Sure, they’re backed up a little bit but so be it. There's nothing you can do about it,” says Bouchier.

Others like Craig Bueltel from Halifax says he is still waiting on a package himself, but the impact hasn't been huge

"We haven't had anything dramatic happen in our family. I'm missing a few magazines, New Yorkers, every week, but I have only gotten a couple," says Bueltel.

Some Maritimers, like Kate Dalbertanson from Halifax, says she finally received all her packages, but they took longer than expected.

"I am not waiting on things anymore, but I know things were quite delayed. I think about a month-and-a-half ago and I think packages that I sent still haven’t been received yet,” says Dalbertanson.

The impact on small businesses was felt during the crucial Christmas shopping season and now leads into the New year.

Alexander Stephen, co-owner of Apartment 3 Espresso Bar in Halifax, says the strike left them with a surplus of inventory.

"One major impact we noticed was around the Christmas season. We always bring in a whole bunch of retail items to stock our shelves and we noticed some significant delays with that, and they ended up showing up later than usual and we had a shorter time to be able to sell them and we have more stuff on our shelves than we planned,” says Stephen.

However, it wasn't just the delays on products during the holidays that have a lingering effect on their business. They are also still missing payments, as cheques are stuck in the mail.

"That's probably the most inconvenient part of the strike is not being able to receive payment. A lot of our clients that we cater to are government companies and have a certain invoicing process and usually the payment comes through cheque through mail. We may have supplied coffee and catered to hundreds of people, but we haven't gotten paid for that and that stays on our books,” says Stephen.

Despite still waiting on things in the mail, Stephen says they are still able to keep up with business.

“I think, you know, we always plan for different interruptions, so it’s one of those you are dipping into the rainy-day account right now. But it’s there so I think we can keep going on as normal, but it is an inconvenience,” says Stephen.

In a statement to CTV News, Canada Post said it thanks Canadians for their patience these past few weeks as it has been working to safely restore normal operations while managing significant holiday volumes.

The company says its on-time service guarantees have now resumed for parcel deliveries within Canada for items inducted as of Jan. 6.

Canada Post says it has returned to normal processing and delivery levels across Canada and will continue to process the accumulated domestic transaction mail, adding Canadians should expect delays with deliveries of many days beyond their service standard.