OTTAWA – On Wednesday, NDP Leader Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway) made clear his intention to propose an emergency debate in Parliament to protect Canada Post and Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) workers.

Davies described how the heavy-handed approach from Prime Minister Mark Carney to unilaterally restructure Canada Post has isolated rural and Indigenous communities, created fear in seniors and those living with disabilities and impacted businesses who rely on Canada Post for shipping and receiving – and led to tens of thousands of CUPW workers to take to the streets to strike for their jobs.

“Thanks to this government continuing to ignore workers’ concerns and failing to implement needed reforms to strengthen revenue streams at Canada Post, we now have a national strike that impacts Canadians and businesses throughout the country,” said Davies. “It is also once again an unjustifiable interference in the collective bargaining process. This is a national issue of critical importance and it deserves to be treated as such.”

New Democrats support members of CUPW in their call for fairness and a collaborative approach to the restructuring of Canada Post. At a time when Canadians are facing a jobs crisis and we need national institutions that connect Canadians more than ever, dismantling Canada Post services is a poor decision that must be reversed.