Edit: In view of what a kerfuffle (isn’t that a great word?) this possible work stoppage has caused, I’m pushing the start date of our KAL forward to August 15th, to make sure everyone has their goodies in time!

Here is the latest from the Canada Post website:

Talks have been ongoing since late 2015 and, following a 60-day conciliation period, the parties are now in a 21-day “cooling-off” period. Based on that timeline, there can be no legal work disruption until July 2, 2016.

While there is still time to reach new agreements, customers should take precautions as a labour disruption remains a possibility.

In the event of a full labour disruption, Canada Post will not operate. Mail and parcels will not be delivered, and no new items will be accepted. Any mail and parcels within the postal system during a work disruption will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible once operations resume.

My understanding is that, as of yesterday, 90% voted in favour of strike action, so we had had to put some contingency plans into place.

Tito and I have decided that we will ship out *all* current orders by next Wednesday latest, using UPS to ensure that packages arrive and do not get stuck in postal limbo should a strike occur before they are delivered. This incurs higher costs than we charge at checkout, but we have decided to pay that difference to make sure everyone gets their goodies without interruption.

If the work stoppage continues, we will have to switch to UPS entirely in the short-term, which may change our shipping prices when we reopen our store in August, but for now we’re leaving the prices the way they are and hoping for the best.

We have received a lot of emails from concerned customers – and I assure you we are doing our very best to make sure your product arrives in a timely manner, no matter what Canada Post ends up doing. In the meantime, if you have further questions, please do feel free to write me at hello@thebluebrick.ca  :)